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Auditions were held on November 17th, 2007 at the Cottonwood Heights Stake Center, and this
year's judge was Shawna Gottfredson. Here are the results for our
Messiah soloists for 2007:
Sopranos: Diana Alvarez, Chantel Nate, Sheila Page,
Shawna Gottfredson
Altos: Heather Armstrong, Karen Barker, Melissa Fabbi
Tenors: Matt Palmer
Basses: Taylor Anderson, Brian Allen, Dave Palmer
Our judges for the auditions are always extremely qualified as
both singers and pedagogues. Our first judge was the very generous and now sorely-missed Carla Wood, who passed away
in 2005 after a battle with cancer. Carla was a singer of the highest quality, and a person we will never forget. For the
last 3 years, we've been very lucky to have soprano Shawna Gottfredson judge our auditions. Shawna is a fantastic addition
to our Cottonwood Messiah family, and had addly greatly to our soloists' development. See below for photos and biographies of
Shawna Gottfredson and Carla Wood.
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Soprano Shawna
Gottfredson enjoys a rich and varied career that features recital, concert, oratorio, and opera. Her clear and sparkling soprano voice accounts for her enthusiastic reception wherever she performs. She
has been a featured soloist with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Utah Symphony, Utah Valley Symphony, The Mormon Tabernacle
Choir, and the Utah Chamber Artists. She has also performed in Siena and Lucca, Italy,
Washington, Oregon,
and recently in New York and Hawaii.
Her opera career
includes lead and supporting roles in Suor Angelica, Cosi fan tutte, Die Zauberflöte, The Impressario,
Orpheus in the Underworld, The Telephone, Un ballo in Maschera, and Madama Butterfly.
Her concert
work includes performances with Canyonland’s New Music, Nova, Eine Kleine Nacht Music, Utah Lyric Opera, Temple Square Concert Series,
Logan Tabernacle Concert Series, and Utah Philharmonic.
She studied
Vocal Pedagogy and Vocal Performance at Brigham
Young University and the University of Utah,
and received a B.M.A, summa cum laude, in May of 2001. She completed a Master’s degree in Vocal Performance at
the University
of Utah in May 2003. She has been teaching private voice for 14 years and has recently been appointed Adjunct
Assistant Professor at the University of Utah School of Music. She works with Classical Singer Magazine as Co-Chairman for
their International Aud/Comp Vocal Competition. She presented her Master’s Pedagodgy Paper- Understanding and Working with the Adolescent Male Voice through Maturation at the International
Convention for the Arts and Humanities in Hawaii
in January 2006.
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CARLA WOOD,
Mezzo-soprano
(Deceased
July 13, 2005)
Carla Wood, mezzo soprano, won excellent reviews at New York City Opera as Meg Page in Falstaff, Cherubino in
Le Nozze di Figaro and has sung principal roles in Madama Butterfly, Die Zauberflöte, Il Barbiere di Siviglia,
and Mefistofele. She sang Flora in Renata Scotto’s Emmy Award winning “Live from Lincoln Center”
telecast of La traviata. She also sang in NYCO’s Rigoletto, The Cunning Little Vixen, Madama Butterfly, L’Heure
Espanol and L’enfant et les Sortileges. She made her debuts at Utah Opera, El Paso and Seattle Opera singing
Rosina in Il Barbiere di Siviglia and her San Diego debut as Meg Page in Falstaff.
Her last season before
retiring, she sang the role of the old Shepherdess in Janácek’s Jenufa at the Metropolitan Opera, and performed
Mozart’s c minor mass with the Fort Myer’s Symphony. The previous six years she had joined the Met’s
roster covering the roles of Javotte in Manon, the Lady Comme-ci-comme-ca in Prokovief’s The Gambler and
principal roles in Mahagonny, Die Walküre, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Rusalka and Cenerentola. Ms. Wood
sung at Carnegie Hall with Opera Orchestra of New York as Roggiero in Tancredi, Teresa in La Sonnambula, Queen
Enrichetta in I Puritani, Maddalena and Pierotto in Linda di Chamounix, Romeo in I Capuleti e i Montecchi
and Imelda in Verdi’s La Battaglia di Legnano.
Ms. Wood was the featured soloist on the world premiere
recording of the Villa Lobos Symphony #10 with the Santa Barbara Symphony.
She was the editor of Classical
Singer magazine under her maiden name "CJ Williamson" and maintained a vocal studio in South Jordan, Utah. She is
survived by her husband, David D. Wood, and two children, David and Lindsey.
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