Music

Virginia Dupuy

Professor, Voice

Virginia Dupuy has earned a reputation as one of the finest recital and concert singers in the United States. She has championed American music in recordings such as the Grammy-nominated Voces Americanas, and she premiered the role of “Crone” in Conrad Susa’s opera Wise Women. Fanfare magazine hailed her recording of Dominick Argento’s Pulitzer Prize winner From the Diary of Virginia Woolf as one of the top classical recordings of the year. Ms. Dupuy made her Lincoln Center debut with the American Symphony Orchestra at Avery Fisher Hall and has appeared with the orchestras of Pittsburgh, Phoenix, Dallas, Houston, Fort Worth, Eugene and Honolulu. Ms. Dupuy, a Professor of Music at SMU Meadows School of the Arts, is the leading scholar and well-known interpreter of music set to Emily Dickinson’s texts. Gasparo Records, Inc. released Dwell in Possibility, a CD of 24 Dickinson poems and one letter performed by Ms. Dupuy with Shields-Collins Bray of Voices of Change, set to music by her esteemed friends including Jake Heggie, Lee Hoiby, Dan Welcher, Richard Hundley, Simon Sargon and William Jordan. Virginia Dupuy continued her performances of contemporary composers in 2007-2009 with concerts of Golijov, Danielpour, Heggie, Higdon and Bolcom with the composers present. This season she premiered Eudora Welty’s short story “The Whistle,” set by Crafton Beck with the Mississippi Symphony, and performed songs, duets and arias of Dvorak with the Georgetown Symphony Society’s 2009 Festival. Also with Jake Heggie, she sang songs and duets, including texts of Sister Helen Prejean, at the Cliburn’s "Modern at the Modern" in Ft. Worth with pianist and producer Shields-Collins Bray. She will continue to perform “Emily Dickinson in Song” with pianist Dale Dietert throughout the Midwest. Virginia Dupuy is in demand as a teacher of master classes and has students who have recently won the Regional Metropolitan Opera Auditions, and are apprentices at Santa Fe Opera, Chautauqua, Des Moines, Opera North and Los Angeles Opera. Ms. Dupuy is the liaison and founder of the Emerging Artist Program, a partnership for SMU graduate students and The Dallas Opera. The summer course for singers at SMU-in-Taos is a project for voice students produced by Ms. Dupuy. Virginia Dupuy was named Distinguished Alumnae at Southwestern University in 2001. On March 27, 2010 she will produce a “Moby Dick Symposium” prior to the opening of the opera by Jake Heggie at the Winspear Opera house in partnership with The Dallas Opera, Meadows School of the Arts, and the Texas Book Festival.