2021/04/24 Destiny Donelson Senior Vocal Recital

PROGRAM

Songs of Love

Amor mi Tiene in Pugno Stefano Donaudy

(1879-1925)

“Vedrai carino” Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

from Don Giovanni (1756 – 1791)

“Soave sia il vento” with Thabi Khumalo and Atticus Rego

from Cosi fan tutte

A Night in France

Beau Soir Claude Debussy

Nuit d’étoiles (1862–1918)

Songs of Admiration Richard Strauss

Morgen (1864–1949)

Ich Trage Meine Minne

Zueignung

• • • Intermission • • •

A Set of Three Dunbar Poems Betty Jackson King

Dawn (1928-1994)

Theology

Compensation

A Set of Poems by Langston Hughes Ricky Ian Gordon

My People (1956-)

Dream Variations

Song for Dark Girl

Prayer

Joy

For Inspiration Florence Price

Hold Fast to Dreams (1887-1953)

An April Day

 

Destiny Donelson is a senior from Dayton, OH pursuing a Bachelor of Arts in Chemistry. In addition to her scientific career, she loves music tremendously, and has made it a mission in her time at Skidmore to study all 4 years. Destiny began singing before she can even remember. Her grandmother recalls giving her a dollar to sing at ages two and three when company would come over. As she progressed, she continued to sing in the choir, occasionally singing solos at different competitions. While attending Stivers School for the Arts for middle and high school, Destiny began studying classically, and fell in love with opera, also attending Interlochen Arts Camp one summer, which transformed her outlook on music-- especially classical music-- as a whole. She currently studies voice under Dr. Sylvia Stoner-Hawkins, and has since her first year at Skidmore.

Additional performances this April include Tang Live at Tang Teaching Museum on April 22, showcasing classical music selections that highlight the joy and pain that can encompass the experience of being Black. Recent vocal activities at Skidmore include winning 2nd place in the Upper College Treble Voice Division of 2021 Eastern Regional National Association of Teachers of Singing Competition, now competing in the National NATS Competition. She has previously performed in Opera Workshop scenes with roles from operas such as La Fée (The Fairy) in Massenet’s Cendrillon, Anna Bolena in Donizetti’s Anna Bolena, and The Princess in El Gato con Botas by Xavier Montsalvatge. In her sophomore year, Destiny was a featured soloist in Songfest, which was part of the Skidmore Music Department’s Leonard Bernstein Festival. She has participated in vocal and diction masterclasses with soprano Marcia Porter and mezzo-soprano Christin-Marie Hill to name a few. As the lead singer in her band Nu-Note, she has performed at the Tang Teaching Museum twice: in programs Tang ❤ Students and the 19th season of Upbeat on the Roof. Her band has been invited to perform in venues around Saratoga Springs and Skidmore, and they are currently recording their debut album. Destiny has also sung in Skidmore Chorus, performing Rutger’s Magnificat and choral-orchestral masterworks by J. Haydn, Schubert and Elgar in collaboration with Skidmore String Ensemble.

Destiny is a Writing Center tutor, chemistry research assistant and assistant of the Skidmore Analytical Interdisciplinary Laboratory (SAIL) here at Skidmore. Outside of Skidmore, she makes skincare products at Saratoga Botanicals Organic Spa & Store, hoping to broaden her horizons post-graduation by making safe and healthy products for companies around and out of the country. Her biggest desire is to make people smile and bring more light into people’s lives, especially in times of trouble. In her free time, she enjoys trying to learn guitar, yoga, and reading the works of Toni Morrison, James Baldwin and Lucille Clifton, among many others. Destiny is dedicated to putting in place in her own relationships the emphasis of the need for Black people to be loved on and cared for deeply amidst this never-ending struggle for liberation.

Richard Cherry graduated from The Canberra School of Music, Canberra, Australia, where he was subsequently a faculty member. Since moving to the United States in 1993 he has been a faculty member of the Rockland Conservatory of Music and Blue Rock School, both in Rockland County, New York. He has been at Skidmore College since 2008.