March 23, 2015
For Immediate Release

By Joan C. McKinney, news and publications coordinator

CAMPBELLSVILLE, Ky. - Campbellsville University School of Music senior vocal performance major Ian McGuffin of Bardstown, Ky. auditioned for the Master of Voice Performance program at Roosevelt University Chicago College of Performing Arts Conservatory and was recently notified of his acceptance into the program.

The vocal faculty at Roosevelt consists of current and previous stars of the Metropolitan Opera. Many of the conservatory's students have gone on to have illustrious careers as operatic singers in some of the most renowned opera houses of America and the world, according to Dr. David Hedrick, associate professor of music at CU, his voice teacher.

McGuffin has been informed he will be studying with the great baritone Richard Stilwell (Artist Faculty in Voice) who has had an illustrious career at the Met and still in demand to perform in opera companies, Hedrick said.
Stilwell played the role of Stephen Foster in the outdoor musical drama “The Stephen Foster Story” in Bardstown during the 1966 season while a graduate student at IU.

McGuffin will present his senior recital on Friday, March 27 at 8 p.m. in The Gheens Recital Hall located in the School of Music at 210 University Drive, Campbellsville, Ky.  The recital is free and open to the public.

McGuffin is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Barry McGuffin, Bardstown, Ky.

He presented his junior recital this past spring semester and has been a major soloist with the CU Opera Workshop, CU Chorale, Concert Chorus, CU Orchestra and a regular participant in NATS and KMTA, and been a member of the Kentucky Opera Chorus.  He was the Kentucky winner of the KMTA vocal division held at CU on Nov. 1-3, 2014.

In his most recent competition, McGuffin was accepted into the semi-final round of the 2015 Orpheus Vocal Competition sponsored by the Middle Tennessee Choral Society held at Middle Tennessee State University on March 6-8.  He competed against several graduate students from New York, Georgia, Tennessee, North Carolina, Maryland, Indiana, Texas and Florida.

As a high school senior, McGuffin knew where he wanted his abilities to take him in the profession of vocal performance.  According to Hedrick, “Ian is among the most dedicated, focused and talented young men with whom I have coached. His work ethic is exceptional, and he excels in the academic classroom. He is a Christian young man who loves his family, his church and his profession.”

In the summer of 2013, after his sophomore year at CU, he went abroad to study and perform opera in the Italian Operatic Experience® for young artists held in Viterbo, Italy, and was coached by Judith Haddon, internationally known soprano, chairman of the voice department at Roosevelt Conservatory in Chicago.  In his studies abroad he performed operatic roles in fully staged productions.

During this past summer, 2014, McGuffin was a participant in the Miami Opera Institute, which offers young singers numerous activities designed to develop their performance and technical skills. He had the opportunity to sing major operatic roles with the Institute's orchestra and participated in master classes with Sherrill Milnes and Young Artist Seminars by Julie Maykowski, Young Artist director of the Florida Grand Opera.

Campbellsville University is a widely acclaimed Kentucky-based Christian university with more than 3,500 students offering 63 undergraduate options, 17 master's degrees, five postgraduate areas and eight pre-professional programs. The website for complete information is campbellsville.edu.