Fourth-year College student Melanie Leinbach took the stage last Thursday in Old Cabell Hall to give a soprano voice recital as part of her distinguished majors program in music. The recital was composed of 16 songs, and Leinbach admitted before the show that she was worried about having the endurance to sing well throughout the performance. Her nerves stopped, though, at the notes she knew so well.
"As far as the songs go," she said, "I feel confident."
Leinbach is just one of eight students giving performances this spring as a part of the music DMP, said Marcy Day, music department director of promotions. While Leinbach's focus is on voice, other students' concentrations include the piano, cello, oboe and trombone.
The music DMP allows outstanding majors to work on large-scale projects during their fourth year, according to the department's Web site. The project may consist of a thesis, a composition, a full recital or a combination of these elements.
DMPs are offered by many departments at the University. In the College, all departments offer a DMP with the exception of astronomy, drama and medieval studies, according to their Web sites. The DMPs consist of at least 12 credits of advanced work and culminate in a thesis or special project involving six related credit hours toward research. Successful completion of the program, along with a 3.4 minimum GPA, allows dedicated students a chance to receive honors when they graduate, in the form of distinction, high distinction and highest distinction.
For the DMP in music, the costs of private lessons and recitals are supported by the Charles S. Roberts Scholarship Fund, Day said. The fund was established in 2004 by Alan Y. Roberts, a 1964 graduate of the University, and Sally G. Roberts, according to the Music Department Web site.
Leinbach has now completed both a thesis and performance for her project. She got the idea for her thesis, which focuses on the ways in which male and female composers set the same text, from a music and gender class in which she studied song cycles about the presentation of women both in the texts and as composers.
Leinbach was adamant about completing both a thesis and a performance. "I felt strongly about certain songs and wanted to study the textual and musical relationship and how it relates to the gender of the composer," she said.
That relationship comes to life in her performance, expanding on the ideas she presented in her thesis.
"Her interest in female composers and their songs is reflected in the program," said Music Prof. Pamela Beasley, Leinbach's voice teacher. "She features a French set with settings of the same texts by both male and female composers. One set features selections from Mozart's 'The Magic Flute' ... groups of German lieder, 'Italian Art Song,' an aria from 'The Ballad of Baby Doe' and a cycle written by American composer Amy Beach round out the program."
To add to the already arduous process of thesis writing and performance design, Leinbach faced tighter time constraints than most, she said, admitting that she is a bit of an "interesting case," as she did not enroll in the DMP until the fall of her fourth year. She had originally planned to become an academic archaeologist, but, she said, "after going to field school, I decided it wasn't for me."
Instead, after receiving encouragement from her voice teacher that singing was something she could pursue at the graduate level, Leinbach decided to take on the DMP. She is now a double major in Music and Archaeology, a big change that has not gone without notice from her peers.
Second-year College student Claire Manganiello, who participates in University Singers with Leinbach, said she was impressed with Leinbach's decision to "drop everything" to focus more on music.
"I'm very proud of and inspired by her," Manganiello said.
Students like Leinback who choose to give a performance as part of the DMP usually enroll in two-credit, honors-level private performance lessons during their fourth year. Leinbach chose to study under Beasley, who also teaches at James Madison University and has been an active performer and voice teacher for more than 20 years.
"As with any student, our focus initially was on the technical aspects of singing: tonal concept, posture, breathing [and] diction," Beasley said. "As Melanie quickly began to grasp these concepts, she was able to focus on artistic interpretation of the texts that she sings."
Beasley said Leinbach was a joy to teach, noting that she "quickly made amazing progress as a singer."
Leinbach, however, was not limiting to just learning about music; Manganiello also praised Leinbach's teaching talent.
"Mel has an extraordinary voice ... she has not only taught me a lot about singing but has increased my confidence in my ability and voice," Manganiello said.
Leinbach has a long singing resume beyond her DMP. A University Singer, she also participates in Chamber Singers and has been the music director of the female a capella group Hoos in Treble for the past two years.
"It really helped me grow as a musician," Leinbach explained.
Leinbach said she hopes her studies in music eventually will lead her to a career as a professional soloist. After graduation, she plans to remain in Charlottesville studying under Beasley before going to graduate school for voice in the 2009-10 school year.
Leinbach said she is glad to have made the decision to pursue a DMP and would recommend it to other dedicated students. She did stress the commitment level, however.
"It's something you have to prepare for way in advance," she said. "You can't just put something together at the last minute"
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