| Jennifer Barnes |
 Jennifer Barnes - Soprano Jennifer Barnes began her solo career with oratorio. She has built an impressive repertoire in this genre, ranging from popular works such as Handel's Messiah and Bach's St. Matthew Passion to David Fanshawe’s African Sanctus. She has performed as soloist with the Sydney Philharmonia, Newcastle University Choir, Newcastle City Choir and Gosford Philharmonia. In recital, Jennifer enjoys singing lieder, melodie, Spanish, American and Australian songs. Composers in her repertoire include Schubert, Schumann, Berlioz, Faure, Debussy, Duparc, Berg, de Falla, Rachmaninov, Barber, Rorem and Butterley. Jennifer was a finalist in the 1999 City of Melbourne Song Recital Award, winning the Best Performance of an Australian Song and equal first in the Best Musical Partnership. Jennifer joined with pianist Francis Greep to perform on ABC Classic FM Sunday Live. In 1990, after winning the Doris Smith Scholarship, Jennifer studied with Josephine Veasey in London, where she developed her interest in opera. Opera performances include principal roles with Opera Hunter, Opera Queensland, Sydney Metropolitan Opera, Sound Construction Company, Sydney Festival and Opera Australia. In 1995, Jennifer won a CONDA for the best performance by a professional actress for her Opera Hunter season as Cio-Cio San in Puccini’s Madama Butterfly. She has since performed the role for Opera Queensland and Opera Australia. Opera Australia productions also include Il Trittico (Alms Sister), Peter Grimes (Ellen Orford), Tales of Hoffmann (Antonia), Carmen (Frasquita) and The Turn of the Screw (Governess). A major career highlight for Jennifer was the role of the Valkyrie Grimgerde in the State Opera of South Australia production of Wagner’s Ring Cycle in 2004, released to much acclaim on Melba Recordings. Jennifer has recorded many styles from baroque (Vivaldi’s Gloria) to contemporary (Whitiker’s Love’s Blazing Fire), from sacred songs to film scores. In 1998 she was awarded a Master of Music for her work on the preparation of opera roles and, in 2007, will complete her research for a PhD on audibility in the professional operatic soprano voice, through the Australian Centre for Applied Research into Music Performance (ACARMP). A paper on operatic soprano voice has been published in June 2004 in the Journal of the Acoustical Society of America. Jennifer conducts a private studio in addition to teaching and examining pre-tertiary, tertiary and postgraduate students in both voice and language. Jennifer has been called on to present aspects of her research and conduct masterclasses for the University of Newcastle, University of Melbourne, University of Sydney and Tamworth Conservatorium. |