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Shudong Braamse, voice
ShudongBraamse is an experienced voice teacher and performer. She has appeared on stages in Canada, Italy, Austria, Finland, Estonia, Spain, Latvia, Singapore, Taiwan and China. She has sung as Lucy in The Telephone, Sally in Thomas and Sally, and Josephine in H.M.S. Pinafore. As a recitalist, she has premiered several works by Asian and American composers, including Huaihua’sI Wish I Were a Little Light Boat, Dr. Gary Nash’s song cycle - Peace, Love and Prosperity, and Michael Bulychev-Okser’s Spanish art song Romance de la Luna. Her Carnegie Hall debut recital in Weill Hall in February 2022, collaborating with Dr. Charles Hulin, was a great success. Shudong has adjudicatedseveral times for the George Gershwin International Music Competition in NYC and the Music International Grand Prix online. She was a guest artist and faculty member at the Alion Baltic International Music Festival in Tallinn, Estonia. She joined as an artist and faculty at the InterHarmony International Music Festival in Acqui Terme, Italy in the summer of 2019.
Shudong has a passion for sharing the traditions of Western vocal music with her native China and sharing developments in Chinese concert music with audiences and students in America. She has given numerous concerts and master classes in China and the books she has translated, Complete Preparation: A Guide to Auditioning for Opera by Joan Dornemann and Basics of Vocal Pedagogy by Dr. Clifton Ware, have been published by the People’s Music Publishing House in Beijing. They are kept in most university libraries in China and sold in major bookstores there. Her recording Silvery Night, a collaboration with pianist Charles Hulin, introduces American listeners to the songs of Yao Qi, a composer from Singapore. Silvery Night is kept at the Singapore National Library. Her album Voix Suprême: French Art Songs by Jules Massenet received comments from Carla Maria Verdino-Süllwold, a critic from FANFARE: “Braamseis scrupulous in her French diction, shaping phrases with intelligence and pointing words with subtle colors...” Voix Suprêmewas a top digital album on the Navona label in the spring of 2017. The album has been heard on radio stations such as KALX (UC Berkeley), WRUV (Vermont), and KMUN (Oregon). Shudong’s Spanish album Sueños de Españawas released by Navona in February 2019. Ken Meltzer from FANFARE wrote: “Braamse has an attractive soprano voice that maintains its tonal beauty throughout the registers...” MIDWEST RECORDS wrote: “Loaded with grace as well as passion, the international classical fan has a winner on their hands with this discovery.” Some songs from the album have received airplay from WCNY (Syracuse), and WRUV (Vermont). In March 2019, Shudong received a gold medal from the Global Music Awards for this album.
Shudong received her B.A. in Music Education from Fuyang Teacher’s College, China, M.M. and D.M.A. in Vocal Performance from Michigan State University. She started to teach at Southeastern University as a full-time faculty in Lakeland, Florida in 2002. Currently, she teaches applied voice lessons and Vocal Literature class at SEU on a part-time basis.