Robert Allen Saunders  

saunders_allen

  

Assistant Professor of Voice
Robert.Saunders@nau.edu
928-523-8858
Building 37, Room 130
PhD Jacobs School of Music, Indiana University
MM Jacobs School of Music, Indiana University
BM Vocal Performance, Marshall University 

Allen Saunders was a voice pupil of Paul Kiesgen and Roy Samuelsen for modern voice, and Paul Elliott for instruction in early vocal practices.

Saunders maintains an active performing schedule in opera, ensemble, and recital appearances.  In August of 2009, he performed the role of Sparafucile for the Montana Lyric Opera Company. Other opera roles he has sung include Sparafucile in Verdi’s Rigoletto, Dr. Bartolo in Rossini’s Barber of Seville and The Doctor in Berg’s Wozzec,  Doctor Bartolo in Rossini’s Barber of Seville, an Dr. Grenville in Verdi’s La Traviata, and the Second Man in Armor in Mozart’s The Magic Flute.

In 2001, Saunders was the bass soloist for two performances of Mozart’s Requiem Mass in Russia with the State Orchestra of Russia in Moscow and with the St. Petersburg State Orchestra in St. Petersburg. More recent performances include guest soloist appearances in Frigyes Hidas’ Requiem at Middle Tennessee State University in October 2006 and bass soloist with The Viola da gamba Dojo of New York, directed by John Mark Rozendaal in November of 2007. Allen frequently performs with the Fort Wayne Early Music Ensemble, specializing in early Baroque music.

A Handel specialist, Allen recently presented a paper on Baroque ornamentation at The Hawaii International Conference on Arts and Humanities in January of 2008. In July of 2010, he co-presented a workshop on baroque ornamentation in Piobbico, Italy for "Music in the Marche" an opera and Italian language program in which he teaches during June and July.

Prior to joining the voice faculty at the Northern Arizona University School of Music in August 2008 where he teaches private vocal lessons, master classes, and acts in an advisory role to the NAU Opera, he was the Coordinator of Voice at Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne where he taught voice, diction, vocal pedagogy, song literature, and directed the IPFW opera workshop.