Alumni
Swensen Combines Opera Singing and Teaching for Fulfilling Career
By Kristin Kamenicky
Opera singing has long been burdened by the clichéd image of the singing fat lady, standing alone on a stage, belting out notes longer than anyone thought humanly possible. While there might be some truth to that image, it doesn’t do opera justice, according to opera singer and educator Kathryn Cowdrick Swensen (’75 B.S. Education, Minor in Music). “Opera is much more involved than you think,” she notes.
And
Swensen should know. Since graduating from Penn State nearly 30 years ago, she has transformed a hobby into
a successful dual-career as a professional opera singer and teacher. She shares her love of singing with her
students in the United States while performing with opera companies around the world, mesmerizing audiences
with her mezzo-soprano voice.
Swensen, an Allentown, Pa., native, began singing in high school and furthered her talent in college. While at Penn State, she began to combine the two passions that she would eventually meld into a career, majoring in education while earning a minor in music. Spare time was spent performing with various campus musical ensembles, even the all-male Glee Club! Many of Swenson’s happiest college memories involve music and performing. “I was really embraced by the music department,” she says.
Following graduation, Swensen went on to Columbia University in New York City to pursue a master’s degree in speech pathology. But she couldn’t ignore her love of singing and eventually began courses part-time at the renowned Julliard School. She soon realized that her voice had real potential and worked hard to secure a scholarship to study with the school’s opera department. Swensen actually met her husband, a fellow singer, during this time. He was the one person who really encouraged her to follow her dream of singing professionally. After finishing her studies at Julliard, Swensen auditioned for the San Francisco Opera training program and was awarded an Adler Fellowship with the company for three years. She describes this experience as “an on-the-spot training program” that prepared her for future endeavors.
Since then, Swensen has appeared with numerous opera companies throughout the United States, Canada and Europe, performing roles in productions ranging from Il Babiere Di Siviglia and The Merry Wives of Windsor to The Sound of Music and Cinderella. She says her performance during a live recording of Anthony and Cleopatra is a major career highlight. The production eventually won a Grammy® Award for Best Opera Recording.
In order to prepare for a professional opera career, Swensen was trained in a classical musical style, which focuses on the human voice and breathing. She gets ready for a role by thoroughly learning the character before beginning two to three weeks of rehearsal with the company. She acknowledges that the quick rehearsal schedule and demanding performances can be mentally and physically exhausting. Performers are expected to develop their voice while singing from the heart and getting into character. Getting into character, though, is sometimes easier said than done. Costumes often weigh 25 pounds or, in other cases, are practically non-existent.
Being an international opera singer could be a full-time job—but not for Swensen. She is also an assistant professor at the Eastman School of Music, where she teaches voice and pedagogy. She says she is grateful to be able to continue her professional singing career while training young people in the art that she loves. “I try to use a lot of my background in my teaching,” she explains. “My primary goal is to keep the voice healthy and teach my students to sing for a long time.” Before joining the faculty at the Eastman School, she worked as a speech therapist. She has also taught privately and worked with many young artists in master classes, specializing in voice disorders and care of the professional voice.
As a wife and mother of one son, Swensen’s life is a balancing act. In fact, she says balancing her myriad responsibilities is the most challenging aspect of her career. However, Swensen says it’s all worth it, and she hopes to continue performing as long as she can keep her voice healthy.
With a successful career and many honors, Swensen has a hard time singling out her proudest accomplishment. “There is not one answer,” she says. She is grateful and proud to have a healthy and happy son. She is thankful for a supportive family, especially her husband, who has always encouraged her to follow her dreams. Finally, Swensen has an “enormous sense of gratitude” for those who have supported her passion and allowed her to continue performing.
Swensen advises aspiring singers to “know your instrument and know your craft.” She also stresses the importance of music educators: “Be a good mentor to young musicians and pass on to them the excitement and love you have for singing.”
Recent Landscape Architecture Alumni Earn National Honors
Emily (Volgstadt) Riley (’04 B.L.A.), Shruti Dixit (’04 M.L.A.) and Jana Zelenski (’04 M.L.A.) recently received national awards from the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) at the society’s annual fall meeting.
Riley received the first place award in the undergraduate individual research category. Her winning project was titled Community after Communism: Planning for New Development in the Vernacular Village of Klokoci, Czech Republic, and her faculty advisors were Dan Jones, professor emeritus, and Cecilia Rusnak, associate professor.
Dixit’s project, A Study of Schenley Park: Historical Interpretation to Guide Intervention, earned special commendation in the graduate individual research category. Her faculty advisors were Thomas Yahner, associate professor, Bonj Szczygiel, associate professor, and Cecilia Rusnak.
Zelenski earned special commendation for her research in the category reserved for those graduate students who also hold a bachelor’s degree in landscape architecture. Brian Orland, department head, served as the faculty advisor for Zelenski’s project, Comprehending the Products of Design: Traditional and Digital.
The complete ASLA press release announcing the 2004 student award winners, including their photographs and descriptions of each project, is available at www.asla.org/press/2004/release0913.htm.
Landscape Architecture Alumni Involved in Department’s First Design Week
Design Workshop professionals Dan Ford (’98 B.L.A.), associate, and Deanna Weber (’91 B.S. L.Arch.), principal at the Lake Tahoe office, recently returned to their alma mater to lead the Department of Landscape Architecture in its first Design Week. Firm CEO Keith Culbertson initiated the collaboration with Penn State and joined Ford and Weber at University Park, where they worked with students on envisioning redevelopment strategies for a large former factory in State College. Students were excused from their regular landscape architecture classes for the intensive weeklong workshop, which ended with a show of student work for local representatives and real estate and development professionals.
According to Brian Orland, head of the Department of Landscape Architecture, Design Week was “wildly successful.” Students indicated “… they learned new things about their own abilities, made new friends and became even more committed to landscape architecture as a career.”
