Vanessa Jump Nelson |
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Vanessa Jump Nelson, well-acquainted with all styles of music, remains particularly interested in the study and performance of 19th Century French Art Song and Jazz. A frequent participant in jam sessions at The Jazz Quarry of Portland with Eddie Wied and the Sky Trio, she was a member of the vocal jazz ensembles "Clazz," and "Andy Chears and the Sound Sensations," whose performances included guest features with the Walter Bridges Big Band and the Dick Schwary Big Band. She subsequently received a voice scholarship from Portland State University, where she sang in the vocal jazz ensemble, chamber choir, studied classical voice, and completed her Bachelor of Arts in Music with a teaching credential. She has sung all styles professionally, including Handel and Vivaldi solos with early music ensembles, 50's rock as a member of "Dewey and the Dipsticks," backup vocals for an Elvis Impersonator, and even a short-lived stint in a country western band. She has been featured jazz vocal artist at the Westside Jazz Jam and has served as jazz vocal soloist at private parties and aviation-related events. Featured solo vocal appearances have included Columbia Chorale of Oregon, Portland Symphonic Choir, and the Oregon Symphony Pops Orchestra under the baton of guest conductor Skitch Henderson. This past year she was a featured entertainer on the Portland Spirit for the Oregon Music Teachers Association State Conference, and in August 2008 was featured guest vocalist with Too Grand, an 8-hand piano group, in their 88th performance.
Her duo with April Brookins Duvic, Duelin' Sopranos,
has
created an historical program around the life of 19th Century
composer Pauline Viardot, which led to Paris, France, for a
collaboration with Paris Opera pianist and coach Mary Dibbern for a
rehearsal of the entirely French program in the historic Theatre de
Champs Elysees and
a concert as part of the Atelier Concert Series. Her
second
Duelin' Sopranos CD with April Brookins Duvic and expert pianist Mary
Dibbern, "Under Her Spell:
The Viardot Effect," was recognized bythe Just Plain Folks
Music
Organization as a finalist for BEST
ALBUM of 2004 in the Opera/Classical Vocal Genre.
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Ms. Nelson is a past
recipient of the First Place Vocal Award from the
Oregon Association of American Mothers Incorporated annual vocal
competition, and has served as Vocal Soloist for the Mayors
Prayer Breakfast of Washington County. Ms. Nelson has served as Student
Auditions Chair for the Cascade Chapter of the National Association of
Teachers of Singing, taught private piano and voice for Act One School
of Dance, and has taught voice for Oregon Music Teachers' Association's
annual "Carnival," as well as Pacific University's Music in May.
She
has held positions in Portland, Oregon as Soprano Soloist for St.
Mary's Cathedral of the
Immaculate Conception, St. Philip Neri Catholic Church, and was a
member of the Trinity Chamber Singers under the direction of John
Strege. She has been a guest soloist and substitute soloist at many
churches in the Portland-Metropolitan area, for worship services,
weddings and funerals, in all styles of music.
Ms. Nelson founded the Duelin' Sopranos recital duo in 1993 with Angela
Westhoff-Johnson, accompanied by pianists Janet Coleman and Michael
Barnes. Ms. Westhoff-Johnson became more involved with directing St.
Mary's Cathedral Choir, and her duties at Oregon Catholic Press, having
less time for singing. Receiving Ms. Westhoff-Johnson's blessing to
re-form, the duo continued to evolve under Ms. Nelson's new partnership
with April Brookins Duvic. The new Duelin' Sopranos began performing
with pianists Kathy Jensen, Paulette Hanchett, and Mary Dibbern. In
2002, the duo was honored to be featured in a full French recital at
the Atelier Concert Series in Paris, France with Mary Dibbern, pianist.
Duelin' Sopranos, under partnership with Ms. Duvic, has continued
expanding its geographical performance area in Oregon and Washington,
including concerts for Whitman College, Clark College Cultural Tapestry
Days, Citizens for Cultural Arts, Saturdays at Central, Think Lincoln
Series, Oregon Music Teachers Association, National Association of
Teachers of Singing, and Mu Phi Epsilon.
Duelin' Sopranos (Ms. Nelson and Ms. Duvic) have released two CD's,
Christmas Joy, with Paulette Hanchett, pianist, and
Viorel Badiceanu, flutist; and Under Her Spell: The Viardot
Effect, with Mary Dibbern, pianist, international opera coach,
and noted authority on Jacques Leguerney. The latter CD is sung
entirely in French and features the music of Pauline Viardot and her
contemporaries, including Faure, Saint-Saens, Frank, Berlioz, Malibran,
Liszt, Brahms, and Chopin. This CD was recognized as a
finalist for BEST
OPERA/CLASSICAL VOCAL ALBUM of 2004 by the Just Plain Folks Music
Organization. The duo was invited to sing at the awards, in
Hollywood,
California, where they were awarded fourth place in the Best
Opera/Classical Vocal Album of the year category, in November 2004.
Ms. Nelson is honored to have sung for Mary Dibbern's
lecture/demonstration on the music of Jacques Leguerney, and to have
assisted with proofreading the phonetic transcriptions of
Interpreting the Songs of Jacques Leguerney: A Guide for Study and
Performance, authored by Mary Dibbern in collaboration with
Carol Kimball and Patrick Choukroun, through Pendragon Press.
Mary has written several opera guides on Carmen and Tales of
Hoffmann. More about Mary can be found on her website:
http://www.mary-dibbern.com/
Ms. Nelson was choir director at St. Gabriel's Episcopal Church in
Northwest Portland, where she directed the adult choir, started a boys'
choir, and orchestrated a fundraiser that launched the St. Gabriel's
Concert Series and resulted in the purchase of a Boston grand piano for
the church. She continues to periodically serve as a freelance
accompanist for vocal auditions, and has been a hired pianist at Taize
healing services for both Grace Memorial Episcopal Church and St.
Gabriel's Episcopal Church. She holds memberships in the
National Association of Teachers of Singing, Music Teachers National
Association, American Choral Directors Association, Mu Phi Epsilon
Alumni Association, and Alliance Francaise de Portland, as well as Just
Plain Folks, an organization of songwriters and other independent
musical artisans.
In addition to her solo appearances and appearances with Duelin'
Sopranos, Ms. Nelson maintains a private voice studio in the Bethany
area of
Portland, Oregon, and is a member of the adjunct voice faculties at
Portland Community College and Mt. Hood Community College.
A licensed pilot
interested in fabric-covered cubs, she is a member of the Northwest
Antique Airplane Club and the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association,
holding fast to the goal of restoring her late father's beloved J-3 Cub
and one day flying it again herself. 