Sooner Voice Camp
Monday, June 12 - Wednesday, June 14, 2023
Come experience three days of voice lessons, vocal coaching, diction training, and meaningful vocal performances with the acclaimed OU Voice Faculty! Each student will receive daily voice lessons, lyric diction lessons, and perform and attend master classes, all culminating in a camp-ending concert in one of our amazing concert halls. Lunch and supper will be provided.
Grow in your craft. Learn with your peers. Sing and love music more!
Event Cost
The event cost is $300. This cost includes the provided lunch and supper all 3 days, as well as a t-shirt.
You may also need to purchase a parking pass for one or more days if you are driving to the event ($3 per day).
Payment will take place in May, after registration is complete. You will be contacted via email with more details about payment.
Registration
Complete the form below to register. You must register by end of day May 1, 2023.
Register for Sooner Voice Camp 2023
Schedule
Check back later for more schedule details
Questions
If you have any questions about the event, please contact Dr. Joel Burcham at joel.burcham@ou.edu.
Voice and Coaching Faculty
- Joel Burcham, Tenor
- Lorraine Ernest, Soprano
- Mark McCrory, Bass-Baritone
- Leslie Flanagan, Baritone
- Célia Wollenberg, Soprano
- Elizabeth Avery, Diction and Vocal Coaching
American Tenor Joel Burcham has performed numerous operatic roles with professional opera companies all around the United States, including Utah Opera, Central City Opera, Opera Omaha, Madison Opera, Knoxville Opera and Painted Sky Opera. Jim Edwards of the Chicago Tribune once described Mr. Burcham’s voice as “lyrical and smooth as silk, but when he opened up his voice, beautiful, loud, steely notes poured forth,” and Chris Shull of the Wichita Eagle described it as a voice of “clarion tone and operatic power.” Joel’s most successful roles include Alfredo – La Traviata, Don José – Carmen, Pinkerton – Madama Butterfly, Cavaradossi – Tosca, and Faust – Faust.
As a concert soloist, Mr. Burcham has performed with Utah Symphony, Hawaii Symphony, Omaha Symphony, Madison Symphony, Colorado Mahlerfest, South Bend Symphony and the Classical Music Festival in Eisenstadt, Austria. Joel’s guest soloing is well-acquainted with Handel’s Messiah, Beethoven’s 9th Symphony and Missa Solemnis, Mozart’s Reqieum, Verdi’s Requiem, Haydn’s Creation, Orff’s Carmina Burana, and Britten’s War Requiem and Serenade for Tenor, Horn and Strings. As a recitalist, Mr. Burcham’s most-performed song cycles include Schumann’s Dichterliebe, Beethoven’s An die ferne Geliebte, Britten’s The Holy Sonnets of John Donne, and Schubert’s Die Winterreise. In 2014, Joel was awarded a Faculty Investment Program Grant through the University of Oklahoma’s Research Council to commission and premiere a new work setting nine sonnets of John Donne for voice and piano by American art song composer Juliana Hall. Dr. Burcham and Dr. Elizabeth Avery premiered this new work at the University of Oklahoma in November 2014.
As a secondary musical interest, Dr. Burcham is an avid fan, professor and practitioner of heavy metal music and hard rock. He co-developed a course in heavy music for undergraduate non-music majors at the University of Colorado-Boulder. Dr. Burcham re-booted the same course at the University of Oklahoma, and MUNM 2513 Music in the Rock Era: Heavy Metal is an active course in the University of Oklahoma General Education quadrant for non-music majors. Joel has a heavy metal recording project called Thlipsis where he serves as primary songwriter, lyricist, vocalist and rhythm guitarist, with singles on Spotify, Apple Music and iTunes.
Dr. Joel Burcham has music degrees in vocal performance from the University of Wisconsin-Madison (DMA), the University of Arkansas (MM) and Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville (BM). He currently serves as Associate Professor of Voice at the University of Oklahoma School of Music, and he has previously served on the voice faculties of the University of Colorado-Boulder and the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire.
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Acclaimed by critics for her portrayal as Queen of the Night in Die Zauberflöte in opera houses throughout the United States and Europe, Peter G. Davis of The New York Magazine writes,” Lorraine Ernest brought down the house with her spectacular arias.” Miss Ernest has performed this signature role with New York City Opera Metropolitan Opera Company, Pittsburgh Opera, Washington National Opera, and the Denver Symphony Orchestra under the distinguished baton of Marin Alsop, Opera Grand Rapids, Palm Beach Opera, Central City and the Volksoper of Vienna.
Her repertoire also includes a debut with The Opera Company of Philadelphia as Elvira in L’Italiana in Algeri which was also broadcast nationwide on PBS with a stellar cast including Stephanie Blythe, Juan Diego Florez and Arthur Woodley.
Other notable performances include her Carnegie Hall debut singing the role of Mademoiselle Jouvenot in the Opera Orchestra of Orchestra of New York’s concert-version of Adriana Lecouvreur, and a debut with Los Angeles Opera as Princess Tatishchev with Placido Domingo in Nicholas and Alexandra. Other roles include the title roles in Lucia di Lammermoor and Lakmé; Violetta in La traviata, Zerbinetta in Adriane auf Naxos, Susanna in Le nozze di Figaro, Olympia in Les contes d’Hoffmann, Cleopatra in Giulio Cesare, Musetta in La bohème and Adele in Die Fledermaus.
In addition to her solo performing career, Lorraine enjoys teaching and has been on the voice faculties at Montclair State University, Seton Hall University and now The University of Oklahoma. Her students are performing on and off Broadway, with Utah Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Washington National Opera Young Artist Program, San Francisco Opera and companies throughout Asia, Europe, and the United States.
One of America's leading bass-baritones, Mark McCrory quickly rose to prominence at an early age and has garnered attention for his strong, commanding, wide-ranging voice and his versatility as a performer in both comic and serious roles.
Mr. McCrory recently made his European debut with the Teatro dell’Opera di Roma as Marco in William Bolcom’s A View from the Bridge, a role he created in the world premiere at the Lyric Opera of Chicago. Recent performances include Sparafucile in Rigoletto for Nashville Opera, Raimondo in Lucia di Lammermoor for Mobile Opera, Don Basilio in Il Barbiere di Siviglia for Virginia Opera, Ferrando in Il Trovatore for Kentucky Opera, Count Almaviva in Le Nozze di Figaro for New Orleans Opera, the Pirate King in The Pirates of Penzance with The Living Opera, Nourabad in Les Pêcheurs des Perles with Indianapolis Opera, Escamillo in Carmen with the East Texas Symphony/Opera East Texas, and Tom Carter in the Texas premiere of Thomas Pasatieri’s Hotel Casablanca with Abilene Opera. He has enjoyed a long association with The Dallas Opera and performed numerous roles including Lord Rochefort in Anna Bolena, the Duke of Verona in Romeo et Juliette, Nikitich/Police Officer/Chernikovsky in Boris Godunov, Montano in Otello, the First Nazarene in Salome, the High Priest in Nabucco, and Truffaldino in Ariadne auf Naxos as well as roles in Die Zauberflöte, La Rondine, Lohengrin, Macbeth, The Merry Widow, La Traviata, and The Aspern Papers.
As an alumnus of the Lyric Opera Center for American Artists (now the Ryan Opera Center), he performed many roles with the Lyric Opera of Chicago including Monterone in Rigoletto, Zuniga in Carmen, and Marco in the world premiere of Bolcom’s A View from the Bridge, a role he repeated with the Portland Opera. Mostly known for his Mozart portrayals, Mr. McCrory has performed the title role in Le Nozze di Figaro with Hawaii Opera Theatre, Minnesota Opera, Opera Festival of New Jersey, and Opera Longview and the title role in Don Giovanni with Opera Pacific, Madison Opera, and Wichita Grand Opera. Other notable past engagements have included Olin Blitch in Susannah with Hawaii Opera Theatre, Capellio in Bellini's I Capuleti e I Montecchi for the Opera Company of Philadelphia, Claudius in Thomas' Hamlet with the Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, Sparafucile in Rigoletto and Nettuno/ Tempo in Il Ritorno D'Ulisse in Patria for Glimmerglass Opera, Friar Lawrence in Romeo et Juliette for Lyric Opera of Kansas City, Zuniga in Carmen for the Florentine Opera and Baltimore Opera, Angelotti in Tosca for the Florida Grand Opera, the Pirate King in The Pirates of Penzance for Opera Longview, and Raimondo in Lucia di Lammermoor and Ferrando in Il Trovatore for the Portland Opera.
On the concert stage, Mr. McCrory has appeared as Don Fernando in Fidelio with the Chicago Symphony conducted by Daniel Barenboim, bass soloist in the Verdi Requiem with the Quad Cities Symphony and the Canterbury Choral Society, Handel's Messiah with the Richmond Symphony, Pacific Symphony, and the Canterbury Choral Society, Rossini’s Stabat Mater and Gounod’s St. Cecilia Mass with the Tulsa Oratorio Chorus, Beethoven's Ninth Symphony with the Chicago Youth Symphony, and in performances with New York's Mostly Mozart Festival in Schumann's Das Paradies und die Peri. He also appeared in a duo recital with Dolora Zajick at the Morgan Library in New York in the George London Foundation Recital Series. His recordings include Marco in A View from the Bridge (world premiere) by William Bolcom with Lyric Opera of Chicago on New World Records and Bass Soloist in Every Matter Under Heaven (premiere oratorio) by Lee Johnson on Jammates Records.
Mark McCrory is a winner of numerous competitions and awards, including first place in the 2002 Opera Index Competition, a George London Foundation Award (1999) and a Sara Tucker Study Grant (1998). Previously, he was a 1994 national winner of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions and a 1997 Sullivan Foundation Award Winner. He also won first place in the MacAllister Awards Competition in both the Professional Division (1997) and College Division (1994).
A native of Dallas, Texas, Mark McCrory received both his Bachelor of Music and Master of Music in Vocal Performance at the University of North Texas, where he was a student of Dr. Edward Baird. While in the Lyric Opera Center, he studied voice with Margaret Harshaw and currently studies with Armen Boyajian. In the fall of 2014, he joins the faculty at the University of Oklahoma, having previously taught at the University of Missouri and the University of North Texas.
Dr. Leslie John Flanagan
Assistant Professor of Music (Voice)
Office: Carpenter Hall 210
Australian baritone Leslie John Flanagan has performed leading roles throughout Australia, Europe and the USA, including performances at the Sydney Opera House, in London at English National Opera’s Coliseum, the Royal Opera House Covent Garden, the Royal Albert Hall, Wigmore Hall, the Janacek Theatre in Brno and at the Edinburgh Festival. Recent operatic performances include Mitrovsky in the première of Twice Upon a Birthday for The Metropolitan Opera Guild, and Guglielmo (Cosi fan tutte) with Southern Plains Opera. Dr. Flanagan earned the bachelor’s degree in music from the Queensland Conservatorium in Brisbane, Australia, and the master’s degree in opera performance from the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama (now the Royal Conservatoire of Music) in Glasgow, Scotland. Upon completion of his master’s studies, he became an inaugural member of English National Opera’s prestigious Jerwood Young Singer’s Programme in London.
Roles with English National Opera, included Rossini’s Figaro, Guglielmo Cosi fan tutte, Schaunard La Boheme, Morales Carmen, Barney in the world première of Mark Anthony Turnage’s The Silver Tassie alongside Gerald Finley, Donner Das Rheingold, and Ned Keene Peter Grimes. Other credits included Guglielmo in Paris, Escamillo Carmen for the Longbourough Festival Opera, Silvio Pagliacci for Haddo House Opera, the title role in Don Giovanni (Edinburgh Festival), Smirnov The Bear, and Demetrius A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Papageno The Magic Flute in Australia and Carmen and Dead Man Walking with the Fort Worth Opera. Dr. Flanagan is the recipient of numerous awards, including the Australian Singing Competition’s Royal Conservatory of Scotland Award, the Sir Alexander Gibson Memorial Scholarship, the Texaco International Opera Prize, the Shreveport Singer of the Year Competition Delbert Chumley Award, and the Benton-Schmidt Competition; he was a Semi-Finalist in the Kathleen Ferrier Awards, Quarter-Finalist in the Montreal International Singing Competition, representing Australia and the audience prizewinner and first runner-up in the Birmingham Opera Competition.
Concert engagements include Bach’s St. Matthew Passion, Mendelssohn’s Elijah with the Canterbury Choral Society and the Oklahoma City Philharmonic, Carmina Burana with Sir David Willcocks at the Royal Albert Hall, London, Mahler’s Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen with the Birmingham Philharmonic Orchestra, Britten’s War Requiem at the Bratislava and Brno International Music Festivals, a concert performance of Prokofiev’s War and Peace at the BBC Proms, and a recital of German Lieder with pianist Wolfram Rieger at London’s Wigmore Hall. He has worked with many of opera’s and classical music’s leading conductors, accompanists and directors, including Sir Charles Mackerras, Edward Gardner, Paul Daniel OBE, David Parry OBE, Graham Johnson, Sir Jonathan Miller, Keith Warner, Deborah Warner, David Freeman and Spanish director Calixto Bieto.
Dr. Flanagan’s professional recording credits include the First Apprentice on Chandos’ recording of Wozzeck, Barney in ENO’S live world premiere recording of The Silver Tassie, also available on DVD from the BBC, Bach’s St. John Passion with the BBC, and on Roger Webster’s Travels with my Trumpet with English soprano Janis Kelly.
Dr. Flanagan’s students have performed at opera houses throughout the United States, including the Santa Fe Opera, Washington National Opera, and Houston Grand Opera. Current and former students have also been accepted to young artist and postgraduate level programs, including the Cafritz Young Artist program at Washington National Opera, the young artist studio at Opera Colorado, the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester, UK, the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, and the Mannes School of Music in NYC, among others. His students have won awards at national and international competitions, including NATS, the International Mediterranean Music Competition and the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions. Dr. Flanagan continues his active national and international singing career while teaching and conducting masterclasses throughout the USA, UK, and in his native Australia.
Known for her shimmering high notes and captivating stage presence, French American soprano Célia Wollenberg always delights audiences with her authentic storytelling, communicative humor, and sparkling sound. Her portrayal of Lakmé was described as "an impressive blend of seductive, innocent, uncompromising and passionate" and her interpretation of Philine, in Mignon, was praised as a "playful and suitably over-the-top, vibrato enriched extravagance."
Célia completed her studies at the University of Oklahoma, where she received a Bachelor of Musical Arts with distinction, a Master of Music, and a Doctorate of Musical Arts in voice performance. Her primary teachers were Dr. Donna Mitchell-Cox, Fred Carama, and renowned mezzo-soprano Marylin Horne. A Vocal Institute Fellow at the Music Academy of the West for two consecutive summers, she worked with artists including Warren Jones, Carrie Ann Matheson, Margo Garrett, and George Manahan.
Célia is also a dedicated and caring teacher. A member of the OU Voice faculty for the past several years, she teaches private Voice, Acting for Opera, French Lyric Diction, and The Understanding of Music. A certified teacher in the Somatic Voicework™ The LoVetri Method, she believes in a holistic approach to singing, leading with gentle rigor, humor, and grace, encouraging self-discovery and mastery of skills through the development of mindfulness, awareness, and self-confidence.
Célia lives in Norman with her husband, Justin, their son, Michel, and their two kitties, Sunny and Luna. A native of Nice, France, she earned a Bachelor in English Literature and Civilization from the University of Nice. She is a soloist and choir section leader at the First Presbyterian Church of Norman. She enjoys history, philosophy, psychology, weight lifting and yoga.
Dr. Elizabeth Avery
Associate Director
Coordinator of Graduate Studies
Edith Kinney Gaylord Presidential Professor of Music (Vocal Coach)
Phone: (405) 325-3824
Offices: Carpenter Hall 306, Catlett Music Center 138I
Dr. Elizabeth Avery coaches opera productions, recital repertoire, and teaches courses in Lyric Diction. In addition to the standard art song/opera languages, Avery is also a specialist in Czech Lyric Diction.
Dr. Avery concertizes and gives masterclasses regularly throughout the United States and Europe. An advocate of the music of living composers, she has given world premiere performances at New York City’s Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall and Steinway Hall, and has premiered Italian operas with the International Opera Theater in the Umbria and Piemonte regions of Italy. Other notable engagements have included Eastman Opera Theater, Nashville Opera, and the Nashville Symphony and Symphony Chorus. She has played under such prominent conductors as Leonard Slatkin and John Mauceri. Recordings include Serenade for Sound Artist Records and Porgy and Bess for Decca.
Avery served several summers as coach/pianist for the “Deutsch für Sänger” program at Middlebury College’s prestigious German Language School, and currently is a faculty vocal coach at the Up North Vocal Institute, a unique and progressive Young Artist Program in Michigan.
Avery studied with Martin Katz at the University of Michigan and Jean Barr at the Eastman School of Music. She was the recipient of the esteemed C. Eschenbach Prize, in recognition of distinguished collaboration with singers. She has previously taught at the Crane School of Music, Castleton State College, and Austin Peay State University.
Dr. Avery joined the faculty of the University of Oklahoma School of Music in August 2011.
- Special Studies - Prague Conservatory
- DMA - Eastman School of Music
- MM - University of Michigan
- BM - Crane School of Music, SUNY Potsdam
