Faculty Recital Features Works by Schubert, Brahms, Rossini

February 6, 2002

DELAWARE, OHIO -- The Ohio Wesleyan University Department of Music will present faculty members Marilyn Nims, mezzo soprano, and Tracy Cowden, pianist, in recital on Sunday, Feb. 10, at 3:15 p.m. in Sanborn Hall's Jemison Auditorium.

The program will include Seis canciones castellanas by Spanish composer Eduardo Toldrá, a selection of songs by Americans Jake Heggie, John Duke, William Grant Still, and Jean Berger, songs by Schubert and Brahms, and "Una voce poco fa" from Rossini's opera, Il barbiere di Siviglia.

Marilyn Nims has been opera or oratorio soloist with many orchestras and choral groups including the Columbus, Mansfield, Welsh Hills, Central Ohio, and Columbus Youth Symphony Orchestras and Cantari Singers of Columbus. Also a dedicated choral singer, she has performed with the Robert Shaw Festival Singers in Souillac, France, and at Carnegie Hall, New York City. Ms. Nims has special affection for the song recital, and her programs present a diverse repertory, often highlighting the vocal music of Spain and Latin America. She has served as singer and Spanish diction coach for the zarzuela theatre at Jarvis Conservatory in Napa, California, and has made singing translations of two complete zarzuelas and several excerpts. A native of Massachusetts, Ms. Nims holds performance degrees from Boston University and The Ohio State University and has studied privately in Madrid, Vienna, and New York City.

Tracy Cowden maintains an active schedule as collaborative pianist and has performed in recitals with principal musicians from the Montreal Symphony Orchestra, the Vancouver Symphony, and the Boston Symphony Orchestra. An enthusiastic chamber music player, she has performed at the Fontana Festival of Art and Music and at the Yellow Barn Music School and Festival, and, as a member of the Knusper Trio, was a finalist at the 1998 Carmel Chamber Music Competition. In October, she appeared as concerto soloist with the Ohio Wesleyan University Chamber Orchestra. Dr. Cowden has received awards for her collaborative performances from the Lansing Matinee Musicale Society and from the Eastman School of Music. She holds D.M.A. and M.M. degrees in Piano Accompanying and Chamber Music from Eastman as well as a degree in performance from Western Michigan University.

The concert is free and open to the public. For more information, call the OWU Music Department at 740-368-3700.