Centenary announces two new faculty members at Hurley School of Music
SHREVEPORT, LA - Centenary College is pleased to announce the appointment of two new faculty members in the Hurley School of Music for the 2017 fall semester.
Centenary’s new Artist-in-Residence at the Hurley School of Music will be Cindy Sadler, a mezzo-soprano from Austin, Texas, who studied at the University of Texas at Austin and the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, before taking apprenticeships with the Lyric Opera of Chicago and Central City Opera. She served on the faculty of St. Edward’s University in Austin, where she taught voice and the opera/musical theatre workshop. She has taught in private studios in Austin and in New York City, as well as being the founder and director of Spotlight on Opera Summer Workshops, a program based in Austin and San Marcos, Texas. A strong proponent of entrepreneurship for artists, Sadler is also the creator of The Business of Singing workshops, masterclasses, career coaching, and private consultations. She is also a longtime contributor to Classical Singer magazine, especially known for her column “Ask Erda."
Sadler has performed roles with companies such as New Orleans Opera, Atlanta Opera, Kentucky Opera, Portland Opera, Florida Grand Opera, Tulsa Opera, and the Lyric Opera of Chicago. One of her signature roles is Erda in Wagner’s Ring Cycle. She also sings in a substantial amount of 20th century opera, such as The Rake’s Progress, The Crucible, and Cold Sassy Tree. In 2017, she will sing the role of the Mother in The Consul with Dayton Opera. For more information, see Sadler's website. Sadler will teach private voice and direct Singer’s Workshop at Centenary in the fall.
Dr. James Eakin will teach theory and composition in the School of Music. Eakin received his Bachelor of Music from Centenary College in 2000, his Master of Music from SMU and his Doctor of Musical Arts in Composition from the Conservatory of Music, University of Missouri-Kansas City. A well-known choral composer, Eakin studied at the Aspen Music Festival and School’s Center for Composition Studies before becoming the Electronic Music Studio Coordinator and eventually the Director of the Film Scoring Program there in 2008.
Eakin has been a composer-in-residence with the Turtle Creek Chorale, Resounding Harmony, and The San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus. His compositions have been performed at Carnegie Hall, Davies Symphony Hall in San Francisco, and the Meyerson Symphony Center in Dallas, Texas. He has recently scored such films as Cut to the Chase, Sugar, and Visible Scars. His composition #twitterlieder, performed by the Virginia Chorale, is currently in production for a PBS documentary. Eakin’s composition Cloud Scraper for Orchestra and his work Stargazing have both been recently published by E.C. Schirmer. To learn more about Eakin, visit his website.