Published June 29, 2017
Miranda Gonzales, Rachel Bouriaque and Taylor Witherspoon,
music students at the University of Louisiana Monroe, are
spending July immersed in Italian culture, with a focus on
opera. Only 20 students from the United States are accepted
for this prestigious study abroad program.
Emerald McIntyre/ULM Photo Services
Striving for professional growth and eager to expand horizons, three University of
Louisiana Monroe music students travel to Italy this weekend to participate in a prestigious
study abroad program held during July in Mondavio, a small town on the east coast
of Italy.
Twenty students from the United States will participate in the program, including
ULM sopranos Rachal Bouriaque, Miranda Gonzales and Taylor Witherspoon.
“The four-week program only accepts students from strong music programs throughout
the United States and these are the first ULM students to ever attend,” said Dr. Mark
Ross Clark, professor of voice at ULM, who will also participate in the program. A
ULM colleague with Clark is another voice professor, Dr. Claire Vangelisti.
The students will have a chance to truly experience Italian culture and language as
they will study in Italian language schools for three hours a day while also housed
by Italian families and coached by Italian faculty. In addition, the students will
travel to Florence and Bologna to see a professional opera, and perhaps more importantly,
they will perform five times for the Italian public.
Gonzales, who hopes to make her career as both a music educator and a performer, says
the program provides many opportunities for professional growth.
“I feel that as an educator it is important to pursue music at the level at which
you want to see your students pursue it. And if you show the example of striving for
greatness, they might also do the same,” Gonzales said. “On the other hand, this is
a very intensive program and the challenge is something that will show me who and
what I can be as a performer.”
Indeed, the program is intense as it also features professors from larger schools
in the U.S., including Northwestern University, Baylor University, University of Michigan
and University of Portland.
“I am extremely excited that I will get the chance to learn from many different professors
because I really want to grow with my professionalism for the future,” Witherspoon
said.
Gonzales says she is very excited about getting to see the country and perform in
venues she wouldn’t be able to perform in otherwise. However, networking is perhaps
the most valuable activity to her on this trip.
“The networking is important to me because I do wish to pursue graduate study and
I hope to find my next instructor or a contact to my next instructor while I am on
this trip,” Gonzales said.
The program begins on July 2 and ends on July 29.
Taylor Witherspoon, Rachel Bouriaque and Miranda Gonzales, music students at the University
of Louisiana Monroe, are spending July immersed in Italian culture, with a focus on
opera. Only 20 students from the United States are accepted for this prestigious study
abroad program. Emerald McIntyre/ULM Photo Services
