NEWS POSTED 04/20/04 - (VIEW MORE NEWS FROM THIS DATE)

Renowned singer's gift to rename Recital Hall

By Beth Flannigan

   Georgia State University will celebrate the contributions of renowned contralto and Professor Emerita Florence Kopleff on her 80th birthday with a ceremony May 2, naming the School of Music’s Recital Hall in her honor.

   “Florence Kopleff possessed one of the greatest contralto voices in the last half of the 20th century,” said John Haberlen, director of the School of Music. “American concert audiences lauded her artistry, and listening to any of her recorded concerts provides the evidence of her accomplishments.”

   Kopleff shared her talents and experiences with Georgia State students for over 30 years. In 1984, the New York native established a scholarship at the school to support the education of future generations of vocalists. Recently, she made a pledge to help renovate Recital Hall and a substantial bequest in her will to support vocal performance at Georgia State.

   “Music has been my life for all my days, and it just seemed the right thing to do,” said Kopleff. “I spent over 30 years at Georgia State. It gave me great satisfaction to work with students and hopefully make them better.”

   Some of Georgia State’s most illustrious friends and former students will perform at the naming ceremony at 7:30 p.m. May 2 in Recital Hall, including tenor Richard Clement, soprano Arietha Lockhart, pianist John Wustman, and faculty members Peter Marshall, piano, and Dwight Coleman, baritone. The Georgia State University Singers, conducted by Alan Raines, also will perform.

   Kopleff’s distinguished career began in 1941, during her senior year of high school, when she auditioned for iconic conductor Robert Shaw. With the Robert Shaw Chorale, she was a contralto soloist in Grammy-winning recordings of masterworks by Handel, Bach and Britten, among others. But Kopleff also had a distinguished solo career, from performing and recording the great oratorio roles with illustrious conductors and orchestras, to concert performances with the American Opera Society.

   Kopleff brought her talents to Atlanta and Georgia State in 1968 when Thomas Brumby, founder and head of the School of Music, persuaded her to become a professor and the school’s first artist-in-residence. Kopleff also continued her solo career nationally and became an asset to the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, giving many memorable performances and offering her expertise by giving vocal classes and preparing transliterations of foreign-language texts for the Symphony Chorus.

   Kate Murray, who has known Kopleff for 17 years, said her honesty, knowledge and passion have helped her as a singer and educator. “I use what she has taught me every time I open my mouth to sing or to teach other singers,” said Murray, a choral music teacher at Atlanta’s Paideia School. “She’s a great friend and role model.”