Greetings from Amalfi, Italy! Nine students and I have been here since July 14 to take part in the Amalfi Coast Music Festival, which is run by our friends Leslie and Sasha. Jessie Buckman, Stephanie Edewaard, Sun Yong Hong, Wayne Jennings, Mia Rojas, Katelyn Sexton, Adrianna Sgarlata, Darrick Speller and Alia Waheed have been singing beautifully !! We've been joined by several members of the GMU Friends of Music organization, including its President, Alice Heyer, and Barbara Jacksier and Everett Chasen. 
The students, along with other talented young performers from throughout the United States and Europe, have been working very hard here: taking voice, dance, and Italian lessons, working with voice teachers from around the country to improve their skills, and participating in wonderfully well received recitals before proud parents and Amalfitanos, which is what residents of the Amalfi peninsula are called.
Tonight, they begin three days of performances of one of the greatest classics of the Opera repertory, Mozart's Marriage of Figaro. Our students have snagged some of the best parts in each of the three casts, including Susanna, Cherubino, and the Countess. You'd be very proud of them!
The students also had the time to have some fun and see the sights. They've already taken part in "road trips" to perform in one of the most beautiful churches in Naples; in a sixteenth century palace in Paestum, site of the largest collection of Greek ruins in the world; and in a beautiful old church in Vietri-Sul-Mare, home base for the program. I've attached some photos from our trip so far. Hope you like them!
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