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WIU Assistant Professor of Music Penelope Shumate
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Shumate Advances to Finals of Vocal Competition

November 18, 2016

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MACOMB, IL – Western Illinois University Assistant Professor of Music Penelope Shumate has advanced to the list of four finalists for the oratorio division of 2016 Lyra New York International Vocal Competition.

This international competition is open to classical singers of opera, oratorio and art song.

Shumate has received critical acclaim for her recent oratorio performances at Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center's Avery Fisher Hall, in New York City.

This season, Shumate returns to Carnegie Hall to appear in "Messiah," and at the Palau de la Música Catalana in Barcelona, where she will perform the Verdi "Requiem"; both are presented by Distinguished Concerts International New York. She will also perform the Verdi "Requiem" with the Bradley Chorale and Symphony Orchestra. For her return appearance with the Chicago Bar Association Symphony Orchestra and Chorus, she will perform the Vaughan Williams "Benedicite," and for her return to the Rapides Symphony Orchestra in Louisiana, she will perform Beethoven's "Symphony No. 9."

At WIU, she will appear in the Faculty Music Chamber Series Concert in February, and in March, she will present a vocal recital.

For the 2015-16 season, Shumate returned to Carnegie Hall to perform the Mozart "Requiem" and the NYC premiere of Paul Mealor's "Stabat Mater."

She was also selected as the winner of the 2016 Chicago Oratorio Award.

Shumate has appeared with opera companies and orchestras across America, including the Opera Company of Philadelphia, Opera Roanoke, Lake George Opera, Des Moines Metro Opera, Utah Festival Opera, Santa Fe Symphony Orchestra, Berkshire Choral Festival, Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia, Acadiana Symphony Orchestra, Quincy Symphony Orchestra Association, Lynchburg Symphony Orchestra, Oklahoma City Philharmonic and Hilton Head Symphony Orchestra, among others.

She is an award winner with the Gerda Lissner Foundation, Marie E. Crump Vocal Arts Competition, MacAllister Awards, New Jersey Association of Verismo Opera Vocal Competition, Annapolis Opera Vocal Competition, Kennett Symphony Orchestra Vocal Competition and the Altamura/Caruso International Vocal Competition, among others.

For additional information, visit penelopeshumate.com.

Posted By: University Communications (U-Communications@wiu.edu)
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