Within the walls of the School of Music, OU boasts a Metropolitan Opera performer who works as a voice professor.
Kim Josephson has been performing and singing with “the Met” since 1991, with major roles in both classical and contemporary repertoires.
While many academic departments at OU feature accomplished and dignified members, Josephson, a graduate of the University of Houston, has chosen to bring his passion and experience — along with his positive attitude — to help shape the voice department at the School of Music.
Currently on sabbatical, Josephson has been teaching for six years at OU and will resume teaching in spring 2012.
His career with the Metropolitan Opera has taken him as far as Japan for a performance.
Some of the opera characters that Josephson has portrayed include Germont in “La Traviata”, Enrico in “Lucia di Lammermoor” and the title role in “Rigoletto.”
Besides performing at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City, Josephson has performed for the Seattle Opera, the Washington National Opera, the Vienna Sate Opera in Europe and the Vancouver Opera in Canada.
For the next opera season, Josephson has something special planned: Philip Glass’ “Satyagraha,” which he will perform with the Metropolitan Opera, a minimalist work built with music in short sections.
The second opera in a three-part series titled “Portrait Trilogy,” “Satyagraha” is based on the life of Mohandas Gandhi. Josephson will play the role of Gandhi’s friend Mr. Kallenbach.
Glass regards Gandhi as someone whose life had an impact on the world and on Glass himself. The trilogy also pays homage to Einstein and the ancient Egyptian pharaoh Akhenaten.
The musical structure restricts motion for the movement of the music, and the auditory result is repetition and chanting.
“This isn’t what you’d think of [for] a normal story in an opera: Where the hero meets these guys and they sit around they talk, [then] the love story ends with someone dying — like a really traditional opera,” Josephson said.
He described “Satyagraha” as more of a “political work ... about ideas” and includes Gandhi’s core idea of passive resistance to social injustice.
In addition to an impressive resume, Josephson has also been hailed by his colleague and students as an impressive person. Colleague and professor Karl Sievers has worked with Josephson for seven years as a fellow faculty member.
“He is a gifted and humble man with a world class voice,” Sievers said. “He always has a smile on his face.”
Fellow School of Music professor Bradley Williams also had encouraging words for his colleague.
“He’s got a consistent, positive and affirming attitude that’s absolutely contagious,” Williams said.
University College freshman Skye Singleton was recruited by Josephson during her sophomore year at Bartlesville High School, where Josephson noticed her singing at a school event and offered her a tour of the school, voice lessons and a look into the career she might one day have. Singleton continued studying with him after moving to Norman North High School her senior year.
“I had been making three-hour trips to Norman to take voice lessons from Professor Josephson. After the first lesson I drastically improved my voice,” she said.
Singleton said Josephson made a difference in her life by giving her the opportunity to study with him, but his enthusiasm for his students makes him a great professor.
“This past year, on my birthday, Professor Josephson actually called me and sang ‘Happy Birthday’ over the phone,” Skye said.
Josephson said all students should come out and experience the opera, get lost in its music and be overwhelmed by the movement.
The performance of the Metropolitan Opera’s “Satyagraha” will be streamed live via satellite at 11:55 a.m. Nov. 19 to Norman Spotlight 14 Theaters.
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melmo 8 months, 3 weeks ago
Andrew, that is such a good lead!