ZOE KIRIAZIS
Staff Writer
Once upon a January, Liz Callaway, a veteran Broadway actress, was scheduled to conduct a vocal masterclass composed by School of Music and Department of Theatre and Dance students. However, after an unexpected snowstorm, her initial appearance was cancelled. The masterclass has been rescheduled and will be held in Mason Hall 1080 on April 11 at 7:00 p.m.
Callaway has a career spanning over thirty years on stage and in film. She made her Broadway debut in Stephen Sondheim’s musical, “Merrily We Roll Along” in 1981 and was nominated for a Tony Award in 1983 for her role as Lizzie in “Baby.” Those who have seen the movie “Anastasia” will know her as Anya/Anastasia, singing Academy Award nominated song “Journey to the Past.” Callaway can also be heard as Princess Jasmine in Disney’s “Aladdin and the King of Thieves,” as well as in “The Swan Princess” and “Beauty and the Beast.” She won a Primetime Emmy Award for the live children’s program, “Ready to Go,” on CBS in Boston.
In recent years, voice students have been able to perform in masterclasses with composer Jason Robert Brown, actress Judy Kuhn, actress Karen Akers, vocal coach Gerald Martin Moore, Metropolitan Opera performer Sandra Piques Eddy and Broadway actress and Fredonia alum Jen Cody.
Junior musical theatre major Hayley Philyaw is one of the dozen students selected to sing at the masterclass. She will be participating in her first masterclass here at Fredonia. She explained the opportunity is nerve-wracking but extremely exciting to be able to do.
“I always love getting an opinion or help from someone outside of the faculty I work with every day here at school,” Philyaw said, “ … because someone that doesn’t see me every day and isn’t used to my tics usually points out something that nobody else really notices and is very helpful.”
Students and the community can purchase tickets at the Fredonia ticket office for $5 in advance or at the door. Those who purchased tickets for the original date in January of the masterclass will be honored and can be exchanged for the correct date free of charge.