FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Nov 23, 2004

SFA alumna performs children's opera for local students

NACOGDOCHES, TEXAS - Tawny Seward's life has come full circle since she was first exposed to opera while in high school and set her sites on becoming a professional opera singer.

Seward, who received her bachelor's degree in vocal performance from Stephen F. Austin State University in 2001, recently returned to SFA's Cole Concert Hall, singing the lead in the Fort Worth Children's Opera Theatre's production of "Little Red's Most Unusual Day."

The opera was performed for over 600 area school children as a part of the SFA Children's Performing Arts Series. Twenty-seven fifth graders from the Nacogdoches Independent School District /SFA Charter School participated in the production.

Seward has been with the Fort Worth Opera since September. With the children's opera division, she sings her role as Little Red Riding Hood, several roles in Malcolm Fox's "Sid the Serpent Who Wanted to Sing" and Chaquita in the bilingual "The Coyotes and the Rabbits" by Hector Armienta.

Seward and fellow cast members spend their days performing for school children, and she understands the influence the shows can have on the young audience.

"This is an art form to which many children are not exposed. By introducing opera to them while they are young, we can enrich their lives and build a future audience," she said.

Seward's own love of opera began when her high school voice teacher introduced her to the medium. When Seward's parents took her to a performance of Giacomo Puccini's "Tosca" at the Houston Grand Opera, she was determined to pursue an operatic career.

Dr. Richard Berry, dean of the SFA College of Fine Arts and Seward's vocal teacher while she was at SFA, said Seward came to SFA as an enthusiastic freshman with a single goal--to be an opera singer.

"During her four years, she kept that goal foremost in her mind and approached her voice study and all her college work with a discipline, an energy, a talent and an intellect I have rarely seen combined in one student," Berry said.

After graduating from SFA, Seward began working on her master's degree at the University of North Texas. She has worked professionally with Houston's Opera in the Heights, singing the roles of Rosina in Gioachino Rossini's "Barber of Seville" and the title role in Gaetano Donizetti's "Lucia di Lammermoor."

Seward's contract with Fort Worth Opera also includes opportunities with its full-length productions. In January she will sing the role of Beth in Mark Adamo's "Little Women," and in March she has a small role in "Tosca."

Seward attributes her success to the training she received at SFA.

"Because it's a small school, the voice students get lots of experience and opportunities. I learned proper operatic techniques and had leading roles as an undergraduate student. That's not possible at every music school," Seward said.

Seward's summer plans include finishing her master's degree and singing the role of Zerlina in W. A. Mozart's "Don Giovanni" for The Living Opera, a new company in Richardson.

After that, she plans to pursue her ultimate professional goal of performing leading roles in prestigious opera houses.