An Only Slightly Formal Introduction

Greetings! I am thrilled that you're visiting my blog!

Quick Facts:

• I am Julia Nelson.
• I love opera.
• I am a junior at Gordon College.
• My major is vocal performance.
• Summer 2012, I am travelling to Austria to study Mozart.
• I am thrilled to pieces and wildly enthusiastic about everything.

I am very pleased to announce that I have been accepted to and will be attending the Summer 2012 session of the Salzburg Institute of Gordon College. This July and August, I will be travelling to scenic Austria, where I will have the opportunity to tour Vienna before continuing on to the city of Salzburg for the remainder of the five-week program. Salzburg, the birthplace of Mozart, is home to the renowned Universität Mozarteum, a conservatory established in honor of the great composer. Music students attending the Salzburg Institute have the opportunity to study privately with Mozarteum faculty over the course of their five-week stay, culminating with presentations of lecture recitals in historic churches or other charming venues in the city. 

I will be presenting my lecture recital on the significance of Mozart soubrette roles to gender and social politics in Viennese culture at the time of their publication. This is a topic that I researched extensively this past semester for my music history course, under the guidance of Dr. Timothy Crain of the University of Massachusetts Lowell. Since I myself am a soubrette, I plan to alternately lecture on the musical implications of specific opera roles and perform excerpts of those roles by way of illustration. Dramatic roles to be featured include Susanna from Le nozze di Figaro and Zerlina from Don Giovanni.  I hope that by analyzing the repertoire pertaining to my research in the context in which it was written, I may have access to fresh perspectives that will sharpen my expertise. I hope that this opportunity will push me to become a more dedicated student and researcher, and a  finer and more inspired performer.

This blog will be the main source of information regarding my preparation for the trip, my activities (and adventures!) as they take place, and my observations and reflections on my studies after I return. I will attempt to also include photos and videos so you can see what I see, so stay tuned!

Thanks for reading!

- Julia