Associate Professor of Voice and Lyric Diction Associate Professor of Voice and Lyric Diction
Cynthia Donnell is an associate professor of voice and lyric diction for Music. A mezzo-soprano, her extensive experience as a soloist in recital, opera, choral, oratorio and orchestral song repertoire includes performances with the North Carolina Symphony, Greensboro Civic Orchestra, Richmond Philharmonic, Richmond Symphony, Austin Symphony, St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, Virginia Opera, Richmond Opera, Fargo-Moorhead Civic Opera, Duluth Symphony, Minneapolis Bach Society, North Carolina Chamber Singers (four-month tour of Western Europe, Scandinavia and the British Isles), Norman Luboff Choir (two tours of the U.S. and Canada as alto soloist and chorister) and the Eastern Music Festival. As winner of the Seventh International Sterling Staff Competition she performed more than 25 solo recitals throughout the U.S. Operatic roles include the Mother in “Amahl and the Night Visitors,” Tisbe in “La Cenerentola,” Second Lady “Die Zauberflöte,” Ulrica in “Un ballo in maschera,” Flora in “La Traviata,” and Suzuki in “Madama Butterfly.” She is a member of the National Association of Teachers of Singing and has been an officer and board member in the NATS Virginia Chapter. Donnell earned M.M. and Bachelor of Music Education and degrees from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.