HPAF Alumni News

2007 and 2008 festival alumna Peabody Southwell begins her first professional role in Long Beach Opera's production of Leos Janacek's The Cunning Little Vixen.  Of her performance, Mark Swed of the Los Angeles Times state "Though this was her first professional productionm, Peabody Southwell was an old pro."  Peabody credits instruction and mentoring by faculty artists from the Hawaii Performing Arts Festival in getting this role.  To read more about Peabody's success, click here.

Congratulations to 2008 HPAF stage director Kenneth Cazan and Peabody Southwell for their success with this production!

2009 HPAF alumni Molly Boggess, Johnathan McCullough and Hannah McDermott are semi-finalists in the Spotlight Awards in Los Angeles. The Performing Arts Center of Los Angeles County Music Center Spotlight Awards program was established in 1988 to provide meaningful recognition, encouragement, and advancement opportunities to high school performing and visual artists in Southern California. Finals will be in March, 2010.  Good luck, Molly, Johnathan and Hannah!

Read about the successful run of 2009 HPAF Composer in Residence Ricky Ian Gordon's "The Grapes of Wrath" in Houston.  The 2009 summer festival season featured "Grapes of Wrath Suite", a lightly staged version of scenes from the opera, on Sunday, July 25.   

 http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ent/arts/theater/6361005.html

2008 HPAF alumnus Gabriel Preisser "sang and acted Tom with power and presence, going from cocky wanderer to conscience-awakened crusader."  Congratulations, Gabe!