NATS-LA PRESENTS
The Gwendolyn Roberts
Young Artist Auditions (YAA)
Winner’s Recital
Featuring
VERONICA ROBINSON
Soprano
With Collaborative Pianist
Dr. Clara Cheng
Saturday, September 23, 2023
6:00 - 7:00 PM
Saint Jude’s Catholic Church
32032 Lindero Canyon Rd
Westlake Village, CA 91361
Reception to follow
Please contact NATS-LA YAA Chairperson Susan Ali at yaa@natslachapter.org if you have any questions.
Veronica Robinson, NATS-LA YAA Singer of the Year, 2023
Soprano and Los Angeles native Veronica Robinson has been praised for her “beautiful color” and “poise” on the stage. Most recently, she was an Apprentice Artist for the 2023 season at Sarasota Opera, where she sang in the opera choruses for Madama Butterfly, Don Giovanni, Ernani, and Thérèse, as well as in scenes as Susanna in Le Nozze di Figaro, Oscar in Un Ballo in Maschera, and Imogene in Il Pirata. In addition, she made her role debut this summer as Pamina in Die Zauberflöte at The Alexandria Summer Nights Festival.
Ms. Robinson earned her Master of Music in Opera Performance from the Bob Cole Conservatory of Music at California State University, Long Beach, where she performed the role of Contessa Almaviva in Le Nozze di Figaro. Here, Veronica won the 2022 “Concerto Competition” for voice with “Ah, Perfido” by Beethoven, sung with full orchestra.
Veronica has sung with many ensembles as both a soloist and a chorister. Her repertoire as a Soprano Soloist includes Mozart’s Requiem, Handel’s Messiah, and Rutter’s Gloria and Requiem. She has sung in ensembles with many different orchestras, including the Los Angeles Philharmonic and New West Symphony.
In 2019, Veronica sang in the opera chorus for Stravinsky’s The Rake’s Progress under direction of Barbara Hannigan at the Ojai Music Festival. She has recorded as a Soprano for several liturgical albums, including four with Tony Alonso, and is heard in the chorus of the soundtrack for the film, Dark Encounter, which was featured at the Cannes Film Festival in 2019.
When she is not working on her craft as a singer, Ms. Robinson enjoys working as a bridal makeup artist. Ms. Robinson is currently a student of Dr. Katharin Rundus.
Dr. Clara Cheng, Collaborative Pianist
A native of Taiwan, collaborative pianist Clara Cheng has worked extensively in recitals, master classes and studios with renowned musicians, including pianists Malcolm Martineau, Martin Katz, Michael Boyd, and Walter Ponce, violinists William Fitzpatrick, Kurt Sassmannhaus, Mark Kaplan and Earl Carlyss, violists Donald McInnes and Robert Becker, tenor Robert White, baritone Vladimir Chernov, bass Eric Halfvarson, among others. She has played as an orchestral pianist and opera répétiteur under the batons of Maestri Jane Glover, Richard Bado, Josep Caballé-Domenech, Brent McMunn, and John Williams.
Clara had given numerous performances of both solo repertory and chamber music in prestigious venues such as Zipper Hall in Los Angeles, Irvine Barclay Theater, and Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center in New York City, as well as international venues in Italy, Taiwan and Japan. She had also received various awards, including first prize from the Benno Rubinyi Competition and Gluck Fellowship.
A much sought-after collaborative pianist in Southern California, Clara currently serves as the vocal coach at Fullerton College, opera coach at California State University in Long Beach, and staff pianist at Chapman University. She has also worked with the Los Angeles Opera outreach program since 2011.
During summers, Clara serves on the faculty of the Art Song Festival in Toledo, Ohio, and Idyllwild Summer Arts Program in California. In 2013, Clara joined the faculty of OperaWorks in both its 1st winter intensive program as well as its 27th summer season of Emerging Artists Program.
Clara was invited to Aspen Opera Theater Center in summers of 2009 and 2010 as a fellowship coach where she worked with prominent figures such as soprano Dawn Upshaw, and stage director Edward Berkeley and Garnett Bruce. Clara also participated in the Music Academy of the West 2007 as a collaborative piano fellow. In summers of 2005 and 2006 and 2012, Clara joined Operafestival di Roma as a vocal coach and recital pianist, in which she worked closely with sopranos Elizabeth Dodd and Beverly Hay in preparing young participants for public performances in central Rome.
Clara has received her Doctorate of Musical Arts in Keyboard Collaborative Arts from University of Southern California, Master of Music in Collaborative Piano from The Juilliard School, and Bachelor of Music from University of California in Los Angeles. Teachers with whom she studied include renowned pianists Dr. Alan Smith, Jonathan Feldman, Brian Zeger, Margo Garrett, and Walter Ponce.
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