Catherine Verrilli
Soprano Catherine Verrilli is a versatile, dynamic singer and accomplished teacher. The Washington Post praises her voice as "gently agile," and "well-rounded in tone, expressive in diction." She was a finalist in the Washington International Competition for Singers and was also awarded the Judges' Discretionary Prize. Other awards include Regional Winner in the National Association of Teachers of Singing Artist Award Auditions, and Winner of the Mid-Atlantic Governor's Outreach Award.
Verrilli earned her doctor of musical arts from the University of Maryland School of Music where she studied with Louise McLelland, stage director Leon Major and coach Bob Mc Coy. She was selected to perform in master classes of some of the world’s most respected musicians, including Evelyn Lear, John Wustmann, Martin Katz, Gerard Souzay, Rudolf Jansen and Margot Garrett.
She has regularly appeared as soloist with the Pan American Symphony Orchestra, the Chesapeake Chorale, the Chesapeake Chamber Orchestra, the Sunrise String Quartet, and the Washington Opera Outreach program.
Some of her professional accomplishments include:
- Performing at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and the French Embassy in Washington, D.C.
- Appearing as a recitalist in the Landmark Courtroom Concert Series in St. Paul
- Appearing in the Thursday Musical recital series in and the concert series Music at St. Luke’s (Minneapolis), as well as the Arts Club of Washington D.C., the Renwick National Gallery of American Art
- Operatic roles include Adele in Die Fledermaus, Marie in La Fille du Regiment, and Carolina in Luisa Fernanda
- She collaborated on the recording "Amore e gelosia: Italian Duets of G. F. Händel ," and can also be heard on a recording for the 1999 Händel Festival in Halle, Germany
- She has appeared as soprano soloist in the Paramount Festival Messiah performances in St. Cloud
Dr. Verrilli teaches voice, vocal pedagogy, music history, and music in world cultures. While a doctoral student at the University of Maryland, she was awarded a double Teaching Assistantship in Voice/Opera and Ethnomusicology, so she feels very fortunate to be able to indulge all of her passions at St. Cloud State.
Dr. Verrilli is regularly invited to present lecture recitals and workshops at College Music Society conferences, MMEA Mid-Winter In-Service Clinics, and the Midwest Conference on Latin American Studies. In addition to teaching applied voice lessons, she also teaches Vocal Pedagogy (graduate and undergraduate), Lyric Diction, Experiencing Live Music, and Music in World Cultures.