Vanessa Sheldon

It was during Vanessa Sheldon’s first harp lesson, at the age of nine, that she discovered her life’s vocation, a career in harp performance. A native Southern Californian, she holds a Bachelor’s and Master’s of Music from CSU Los Angeles and a Doctorate of Musical Arts in harp and musicology from the University of Arizona, where she was a member of the world-renown HarpFusion and honored as the youngest doctoral graduate, receiving her degree at age 19. Highlights of her concert tours have included performances in China, South Korea, and Spain, for such notables as Oprah Winfrey, Maya Angelou, Tippi Hedren, and Barbara Sinatra, in addition to several television appearances. Besides working as a professional harpist and instructor for the past eleven years, she is also active as a composer, arranger, and transcriber. She teaches at the College of the Desert, having earned the accolade of being the youngest college professor in the world, as well as with the extension programs of UC Riverside and CSU San Bernardino and as a teaching artist with the McCallum Theatre Institute.

It was during Vanessa Sheldon’s first harp lesson, at the age of nine, that she discovered her life’s vocation, a career in harp performance. A native Southern Californian, she holds a Bachelor’s and Master’s of Music from CSU Los Angeles and a Doctorate of Musical Arts in harp and musicology from the University of Arizona, where she was a member of the world-renown HarpFusion and honored as the youngest doctoral graduate, receiving her degree at age 19. Highlights of her concert tours have included performances in China, South Korea, and Spain, for such notables as Oprah Winfrey, Maya Angelou, Tippi Hedren, and Barbara Sinatra, in addition to several television appearances. Besides working as a professional harpist and instructor for the past eleven years, she is also active as a composer, arranger, and transcriber. She teaches at the College of the Desert, having earned the accolade of being the youngest college professor in the world, as well as with the extension programs of UC Riverside and CSU San Bernardino and as a teaching artist with the McCallum Theatre Institute. Most recently she has been named Miss Greater Palm Springs 2009 and will compete in the Miss California/America Pageant in June.

Cellist David Cho currently performs in the Washington, D.C. area. Recent musical activities include performances with the Kennedy Center Opera and Ballet, the National Gallery Orchestra, and Wolf trap. From 1995-2006, he was Assistant Principal Cellist with the Memphis Symphony Orchestra. Other highlights include performing with the Atlanta Symphony, and the Bellingham Music Festival in Washington. He was on the faculty at Interlochen in 2006, and received a Fellowship to Tanglewood. Solo engagements include concerto and recital appearances with Concert Artists of Baltimore, the Crossroads Series, the New Ballet Ensemble, the Piedmont Symphony and the Frederick Symphony. He studied at New England Conservatory, USC, and Indiana University with Bernard Greenhouse, Ronald Leonard, and Fritz Magg.

Soprano Elizabeth Kluegel performs frequently as an opera singer, concert soloist and recitalist. Her voice has been described as a “silvery soprano” and as having a “..brilliant and shimmering tone”. The Washington Post recently called her performance as Marie in Donizetti’s La Fille du Règiment "outstanding”. Her voice has been described as perfect for the intimacy of the song recital. Ms. Kluegel takes pleasure in being involved with lesser known and contemporary works. She was featured in the world premiere of In Quiet Resting Places by Daniel Gawthrop with The Master Chorale of Washington at the Kennedy Center Concert Hall. This performance was broadcast on National Public Radio’s “Performance Today”. Ms. Kluegel sang Roberto Gerhard’s lesser-known Cancionero de Pedrell for the European Union Spanish Presidency Concert with the chamber music group Musica Aperta. She has performed vocal chamber music concerts of Ned Rorem’s The Last Poems of Wallace Stevens and Earl Kim’s Three Poems in French. She recently performed Washington composer Janet Peachey’s Views through a Window with Washington Musica Viva and recently sang the world premiere of Sidney Bailin’s Scénes in November 2006 with Washington Musica Viva. Ms. Kluegel has performed opera with Bel Cantanti Opera, Dayton Opera, Virginia Opera, Opera International, Opera Grand Rapids, Capitol City Opera and the Kennedy Center Orchestra. She has sung oratorio and concert repertoire with the St. Louis Symphony, the U.S. Naval Academy, and the Alabama Symphony, members of the Spokane Symphony, the New Dominion Chorale and the Master Chorale of Washington. Ms. Kluegel has performed recitals and chamber concerts for the Reinzanaka Recital Series in Tokyo, Japan, the U.S. Department of State, The Monadnock Music Festival, The Cape May Music Festival, the Mendelssohn Glee Club of New York City, The Rock Spring Recital Series, The Waterford (Virginia) Concert Series, Sunday Afternoons Live at the First Congregational Church of Greenwich, CT and Washington Musica Viva. Continuing her focus on recital repertoire, Ms. Kluegel was chosen to participate in the prestigious Steans Institute for Young Singers at the Ravinia Festival, and was asked to return as one of five singers to inaugurate their Program for Vocal Chamber Music. She has been privileged to work with conductors Tom Beveridge, Don McCullough, David Loebel, Richard Westerfield, Dr. Barry Talley, Robert Lyall, and the under the baton of Maestro Mstislav Rostropovich. In the spring of 2007 she sang with Choralis in Handel’s Messiah, Central Maryland Chorale in John Rutter’s Mass of the Children and Washington Musica Viva on a Handel and Mozart opera concert. This season Ms. Kluegel has sung at the Embassy of the Czech Republic with the American premiere of Viktor Kalabis’ “Bird’s Weddings” and most recently, at the Japanese Embassy.

Images

Additional Resources

Millennium Stage Home Page

Watch Past Performances

<i>Blossoms in the Breeze: The Sounds of the Spring</i>

4/4/09: Blossoms in the Breeze: The Sounds of the Spring

A harp, cello, and soprano trio performs a melodic concert with works by Japanese composers including Rentaro Taki and Masatoshi Mitsumoto. Presented in cooperation with the Embassy of Japan.

Blossoms in the Breeze: The Sounds of the Spring

A harp, cello, and soprano trio performs a melodic concert with works by Japanese composers including Rentaro Taki and Masatoshi Mitsumoto. Presented in cooperation with the Embassy of Japan.

Comment, rate, and more...

Performances

Search by Date

Annual Events

Search by Category

Visit these areas of our website:

Tickets

Buy a Ticket

Subscribe

Customer Help

Box Office

Contribute

Give Now

Support Us

Get Involved

Visit

The Kennedy Center

Area Information

The Venues

Area Map

Explore the Arts

Videos

Live Broadcasts

Interactives

Artists

Blogs

Education

Performances & Events

Arts & Schools

Career Development

VSA and Accessibility

Arts Management

About

A Living Memorial

Our People

Vanessa Sheldon

Images

Additional Resources

Watch Past Performances

Comments