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Five William Paterson University voice students— Alejandro De Los Santos of Sparta, Owen Gavigan of Hillsborough, Austin Sidito of Holbrook, N.Y., Viviana Kaszubski of Boonton, and Allysa Totten of Edison—have been accepted into summer 2023 opera music festival programs in Europe.
"The fact that our students continue to successfully apply for and be accepted to prestigious summer music programs in Europe reflects their increasing level of musicianship and the continued growth of our program at William Paterson,” says Christopher Herbert, vocal area coordinator and assistant professor of music. “I am very proud of each of them, especially because these experiences will allow them to broaden their horizons and to view their lives and career prospects anew."
De Los Santos, Gavigan, and Sidito have been accepted into the Prague Summer Nights Festival, which will be held from June 17 through July 17, 2023, in Tabor, Czechia and Prague, Czechia. The trio will study voice with famous pedagogues and perform opera scenes in Czech. De Los Santos, who is attending for the second straight year, will perform the title role in Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro; Gavigan and Sidito have both been cast in the role of Antonio in the same production. The performances will take place in the historic Estates Theatre in Prague, with professional sets and historic costumes from the Czech National Theater.
Kaszubski and Totten have been accepted to the Assisi Music Festival, held from July 10 to 27, 2023 in Assisi, Italy. Both will perform in various scenes and concerts held in some of Italy's most beautiful basilicas, cathedrals, and other historical, culturally rich spaces in Assisi and nearby cities.
De Los Santos, who is also a tuba player, will graduate from William Paterson in August 2023 with a bachelor of music degree in performance. Gavigan is a junior majoring in voice; Sidito is a junior majoring in voice and music education; and Kaszubski and Totten are seniors majoring in voice and music education.
All five students have been featured in numerous roles in the University’s recent musical theatre and opera productions, including Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, Leonard Bernstein’s Trouble in Tahiti, and Kamala Sankaram's Monkey and Francine in the City of Tigers.
