ARKADELPHIA, Ark.—Ouachita Baptist University will host Dr. Mark Ross Clark Friday, Sept. 10, in a panel discussion about performance anxiety at 11 a.m. in McBeth Recital Hall as well as a Singer-getics workshop from 2-5 p.m. in Walker Conference Center.
The morning discussion will be held during Performing Arts Class, but everyone is welcome to attend. The Singer-getics workshop will also primarily benefit voice principles but is open to the public.
The Singer‐getics workshop combines exercises inspired by movement from yoga, Suzuki Theatre, Tai chi and pilates with singing applications. Young singers will learn to incorporate different forms of artistic expression in order to enhance his or her vocal performance.
“It is my hope that Dr. Clark’s Singer-getics workshop will provide students with tools to relax their bodies and help free their voices of tension,” said Dr. Margaret Garrett, OBU assistant professor of music. “I also hope his relaxation techniques and acting exercises will help students feel more comfortable expressing emotion and character as they sing or play music.”
Clark currently serves as opera and musical theater director at the University of Louisiana–Monroe and has had a successful career in music beginning in the 1970s as a soloist in the Roger Wagner Chorale. He toured with the chorale for several years and after completing his doctorate in opera production at the University of Washington in Seattle. He has also served as the director of opera production at the Indiana University School of Music, where Garrett was one of his students. Clark is also author of two books, “Guide to the Aria Repertoire” and “Singing, Acting and Movement in Opera: A Guide to Singer-getics.”
Five Ouachita students will be singing as part of the workshop, including: Rachel Chapman, a junior church music major from Rowlett, Texas; Katie Edenfeld, a senior vocal performance major from Fort Worth, Texas; Xavier Lagunas, a junior musical theatre major from Arlington, Texas; Andrew Miller, a junior vocal performance major from Dalworthington Gardens, Texas; and Josiah Wheeler, a senior music education major from Jacksonville, Ark.
For more information on Clark’s visit, contact Dr. Margaret Garrett at garrettm@obu.edu. Both events are free and open to the public.
