Mezzo-soprano SUSAN FLEMING maintains an active and varied career, appearing frequently as an orchestral soloist, recitalist, and in opera. A native of Richmond, Virginia, she has been acclaimed for her impeccable and communicative musicianship, as well as the clarity and beauty of her voice.
Miss Fleming has appeared in concert as soloist at such venues as the National Gallery of Art, the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, and the Library of Congress, She made her international debut at the 1985 Summer Festival in St. Moritz, Switzerland. Since then, she has given concerts and recitals in Italy, Japan, and England, most recently in summer 2000 as guest soloist and recitalist for the International Cathedral Music Festival in Canterbury and London.
Miss Fleming was the recipient in 1994 and 1989 of fellowships for the Bach Aria Festival and Institute in Stony Brook, New York. Her extensive oratorio and concert experience includes repertoire ranging from Monteverdi and Bach to Britten, Crumb, and Westergaard. Concert appearances include engagements with the Green Bay (WI) and Abilene (TX) and Macon (GA) symphonies, in addition to the Tuscaloosa and Alabama symphonies.
A specialist in American Art Song, Miss Fleming has been the guest recitalist for both the Southern Regional and Mississippi state National Association of Teachers of Singing Conventions, as well as a Convention artist for both the Mississippi and Alabama Music Teachers Association. She also appeared in recital at the 1990 Festival of American Song in Boulder, Colorado. She continues to be in demand for recital work, singing on concert series in Maryland, Georgia, Mississippi, and Alabama, and recently at Washington D.C.'s prestigious Cosmos Club. In October 2002, Miss Fleming has been invited to sing Debussy's Chansons de Bilitis at a conference for 19th Century French Studies in Ohio.
Miss Fleming received critical acclaim from Andrew Porter in the New Yorker for her portrayal of the role of Alessandro in the American premier of Handel's Tolomeo with the Smithsonian Concerto Grosso conducted by Nicholas McGegan. Additional operatic roles include Prince Orlofsky in Die Fledermaus, Hansel in Hansel and Gretel, Miss Todd in The Old Maid and the Thief, Dido in Dido and Aeneas, Tessa in The Gondoliers, Ciesca in Gianni Schicchi, Dinah in Trouble in Tahiti, Herself in The Proposal, and Volpino in The Apothecary. She sang the role of Flora in Opera Birmingham's production of La Traviata in January 2002 and will premier the role of Cornelia in newly commissioned work for Alabama Operaworks in September 2002.
Miss Fleming was a semifinalist in the 1990 Concert Artists Guild International Competition in New York, and in 1991 was selected for the first International Marian Anderson Vocal Competition in Washington, D.C.
Miss Fleming holds degrees from James Madison University, Ball State University, and The University of Maryland. She is currently Professor of Voice and head of the Voice area at the School of Music at the University of Alabama, where she has also served as Assistant Director, Acting Director, and Director of Graduate Studies.
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