Castle of our skins'teaching artists
alexis peart, Teaching Artist
Click below for an outline of Alexis' workshop, "Singing Spirituals."
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Alexis Peart (she/her) is a multifaceted mezzo-soprano, music educator, and arts administrator based in Boston, MA, where she is pursuing a graduate degree in Vocal Performance from Boston University with a certificate in Arts Management. She is an alumna of the Eastman School of Music, holding degrees in Music Education and Vocal Performance. This season Alexis appears as Brittomara in Jake Heggie’s "If I Were You" with the Boston University Opera Institute and as Taller Sister in Missy Mazzoli’s "Proving Up" with the Boston University Fringe Festival. She is also featured as the Voice of Israel in Robert Nathaniel Dett’s oratorio “The Ordering of Moses” with the Rochester Oratorio Society, the Robert Nathaniel Dett Chorale of Toronto, and the Roberts Wesleyan Choir.
During the 2020/2021 season, Alexis returned to Wolf Trap Opera for her second season as Studio Artist, covering Dorothée in Joseph Bologne’s "L’Amant Anonyme" and the Beggar Woman in Sondheim’s "Sweeney Todd". As an artist and educator, Alexis’ primary focus is diversity in repertoire, community collaboration, and accessibility in music teaching. In 2021 Alexis was a guest lecturer on Diversity in Music Education at SUNY Fredonia, in addition to speaking at the 2020 Gender Equity in Music Conference on the “No Gender Equity without Intersectionality” panel about women, race, ethnicity, and sexuality. When teaching, Alexis adopts a holistic approach, tailoring her lessons to the needs of the students to show music and opera in an interactive, exciting, and socially relevant light, that leaves a lasting impact. In addition to her role as a Teaching Artist with Castle of Our Skins, Alexis serves as the Community Engagement and Equity Coordinator for Washington Concert Opera, the Development and Marketing Coordinator for Guerilla Opera, a member of the DEIA Committee for the Boston University School of Music, and as a member of the Equity Committee for Thompson Street Opera Company. For more information about Alexis, please visit her online at alexispeart.com and on Instagram @alexis_peart, and Facebook @alexispeartmezzo. |
steph davis, teaching artist
Click below for an outline of Steph's interactive workshop, "Portraits of Spirituals."
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Described as a “captivating storyteller,” marimbist/composer Steph Davis (they/them) creates multidisciplinary performances that engage with African-American aesthetics and interconnected struggles for freedom. Their work pushes against patriarchal, white-supremacist, ruling class domination in order to capture a liberatory consciousness and self-actualization.
An emerging artist, Steph has performed recitals in the U.S. and has been a featured guest artist with PBS, New Gallery Concert Series, MF Dynamics, Southern California Marimba, Modern Marimba, 5th Wave Collective, and The Vibraphone Project. Steph specializes in African-American folk and contemporary solo/chamber music. As a composer, their music has been performed internationally. They have received commissions from Britton-René Collins, Spectrum Ensemble, and Prism Percussion, among others. Steph is a teaching artist with Castle of Our Skins and teaches marimba and percussion at Dedham School of Music. Steph was awarded a residency at Boston Center for the Arts and collaborated on Hatched: Breaking Through the Silence, an award-winning public art project. They were a finalist in the Boston Conservatory Concerto Competition. Steph holds a B.M. from the Boston Conservatory, where they are currently pursuing a M.M. in marimba performance. Their primary teachers include Nancy Zeltsman and Sam Solomon. Steph is a Marimba One Artist. |