Serving Boone, Blowing Rock, Banner Elk, and other towns of the North Carolina High Country
Founded 05-05-05

February 15, 2007 issue

Performances by Music School Faculty Member Featured on NPR

Story by David Brewer

Though the High Country won’t soon be confused with Italy or Germany in terms of the popularity of opera, one area instructor’s singing is being heard beyond the Boone town limits.

Recordings by ASU voice instructor Mary Gayle Greene have aired on a recent edition of Carolina Live, a radio show on National Public Radio station WDAV 89.9 FM, broadcasting from Davidson, N.C. The show features performances of classical music recordings submitted from across the state.

On Sunday, February 25, between 3:00 and 5:00 p.m., WDAV will broadcast "Songs of A Wayfarer," a four-song cycle by Austrian-born composer Gustav Mahler that Greene recorded with the Tar River Chamber Orchestra, marking the second time that a performance by the talented vocalist has been featured on the show.

“It’s an honor and a thrill. You can call your friends and they can listen to a streaming Internet broadcast,” said Greene. “You want to be able as an artist to communicate with as many people as you can and have them enjoy it.”

Originally from east Tennessee, Greene received her vocal training at the University of Tennessee. She is a Metropolitan Opera National Auditions finalist, a Center for Contemporary Opera International Competition finalist as well as the recipient of a Metropolitan Opera Career Advancement Grant and a Franz Schubert Institut Scholarship. She has been a staff member at ASU’s Hayes School of Music for seven years and speaks highly of her fellow faculty members and students.

“It’s wonderful for people in Charlotte to know that we have classical music up here,” said Greene. “We have really great students and it just keeps getting better and better.”

Greene’s distinguished performances on the operatic stage include appearances at the Edinburgh Music Festival, Buhnen der Stadt Bonn, Chicago Lyric Opera Studio and Opera Theater of Saint Louis.

In concert performance, Greene, a mezzo-soprano, has been a guest soloist with the Saint Louis Symphony and the North Carolina Symphony. She has also appeared with the symphony orchestras of Greensboro, Canton, Ohio, Chicago (Grant Park), and Knoxville, Tenn.

Even though Greene formerly resided in Germany, she feels that being able to live and work in the mountains offers the best of both worlds.

“It’s kind of an unusual opportunity to be a classical musician and live in the mountains,” said Greene. “The people are neat and it’s just a special place.”

To hear Greene’s upcoming performance on WDAV, click to www.wdav.org.