Rissinger (Submitted)

Shepherd University Music will present a masterclass with Ellen Rissinger, vocal coach and accompanist, on Monday, November 7 from 6 to 8 p.m. in the Shipley Recital Hall of the Frank Center. The event is free and open to the public.

Rissinger came to European attention when she accompanied a performance of Shostakovitch’s Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk at the Deutsche Oper am Rhein in Dsseldorf during the German orchestra strike in December 2009. Currently on the music staff of the Semperoper in Dresden, Germany, Rissinger has enjoyed a career in both Germany and the United States. Besides her duties at the Semperoper, she also works for the University of Miami’s Salzburg Summer Program, where she coaches privately, gives master classes, and lectures on auditioning in Europe and America.

Rissinger earned a bachelor of fine arts in piano performance from Carnegie Mellon University and obtained a master of music in accompanying from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. She also attended the young artist training programs of Florida Grand Opera, Glimmerglass Opera, Des Moines Metro Opera, and Aspen Opera Theater Center. An avid student of language, Rissinger continues to work on her conversational skills in French, Spanish, Italian, Russian, and Modern Greek, while maintaining fluency in German and English. She is sought after as a master teacher, having given master classes for the Boston NATS chapter, Boston Conservatory, the Hartt School, Oklahoma City University, Murray State University, and Carnegie Mellon University, as well as at several of the leading summer programs in Europe, including AIMS in Graz and the International Performing Arts Institute.

For more information, call the Shepherd music concertline at 304-876-555 or visit www.shepherd.edu.