Guiding and Inspiring Students: Associate Professor of Voice Rebecca Turner
Vision for Teaching
“My job as a teacher is to not only guide my students on their journey, but to inspire them. I believe the teacher’s primary objective is to render him or herself obsolete. Ultimately, these young artists are going to have to stand on their own before many types of ‘audiences,’ and my task is to help them develop their own tools to be successful in their endeavors.”
Making an Impact
“No amount of flowers thrown at my feet is as satisfying to me as witnessing my students achieve their goals. When they are able to come off the performing stage and say ‘I did it!’– well, there is nothing that tops that for me.”
Professional Development
“In order to teach my students about the expectations faced by a performer, I feel that I must have personal experience with those expectations myself. Therefore, my own performances not only inform me, they inform my teaching. Over the past 20 years, I have been able to experience the gamut of performing levels – from rank amateur to professional; from 20-minute programs for local music clubs at libraries to continental premieres of operatic works for 3000-member audiences at historically significant theaters. These situations are invaluable research tools when teaching my students about ‘what it takes’ to become a performing artist, and how they need to assess themselves in this task.”
Enabling Student Success
“My job in facilitating creativity is to recognize each participant’s unique talent and perspective and bring them together for the task at hand. I have always believed that each situation is a ‘timeless moment’ – one that will never again be repeated exactly the same. Allowing all the factors present in each of these ‘moments’ to individually root and bloom takes spontaneity, patience and flexibility.”
Scholarly Interest
“I enjoy classical singing, the collaborative musical process, and operatic performance/production.”
Musical Experience
“I landed a contract in 1992 as a soloist with the theater in Bremen, Germany, and sang over 500 performances of over 40 roles in major opera houses throughout Germany and Europe from 1992-2003. In 1999, I sang the role of “Senta” in Wagner’s Der fliegende Holländer in Shanghai, China, which made me the first soprano to ever sing in a Wagner opera in China.”
Collaborative Projects at Converse
(Theatre professor) “Brent Glenn and I collaborated on Fiddler on the Roof, a production done between the Converse Opera Theatre and the Theatre and Dance Department. I participated in a Faculty Showcase recital with several Petrie School of Music colleagues, an All-German Lieder recital with Mildred Roche, a vocal recital and teaching instruction with Stafford Turner, and recital of works for Soprano, French Horn and Piano with Mildred Roche and Dr. Virginia Thompson.”
Recent Performances and Grants
“I have been a cast member in Arthur Roach’s play Redd Reidenhude at the Page to Stage Festival, presented by the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC. My guest roles include: Guest Artist/Master Class Clinician for Pro Musica in Dublin, Ireland; Guest Artist for the American Chamber Players fall concert performances in Denver, Orlando, Charlotte, and Clemson; and Recital Guest Artist/Master Class Clinician for the Saltnote Stageworks Music Festival in Indian Head, Maryland. I’ve won grant awards for Bock’s Fiddler on the Roof, Puccini’s Suor Angelica, and Barab’s Little Red Riding Hood, Arts Partnership of Spartanburg.”