Fowler Center Series presents opera singer/recitalist Sylvia McNair Nov. 1

Oct. 21, 2008 -- The  Fowler Center Series presents American opera singer and classic recitalist Sylvia McNair in performance  Saturday, Nov. 1, at 7:30 p.m. in Riceland Hall, Fowler Center, 201 Olympic Drive, Jonesboro. In her performance, "Subject to Change," McNair presents a cabaret-style evening of songs by George Gershwin, Cole Porter, Richard Rodgers, and many others.

McNair’s 25-year career as one of the world's leading singers has brought her two Grammy Awards, more than 70 recordings and worldwide accolades. She has performed with nearly all the world's leading opera companies and orchestras and has sung for Pope John Paul II, Hillary Rodham Clinton, and the U.S. Supreme Court (by invitation of Justice Sandra Day O'Connor.)

McNair, a soprano, debuted with the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra in 1980. She has a Bachelor of Music degree from Wheaton College and a Master of Music (with distinction) from Indiana University. Her operatic debut followed in 1982, when she sang at the Mostly Mozart Festival. She has appeared at the Vienna State Opera, the Salzburg Festival, the Ravinia Festival, the San Francisco Opera, the Santa Fe Opera, the Royal Opera House at Covent Garden, and the Metropolitan Opera. McNair has two honorary doctorates in music from Westminster College and Indiana University, as well.

Sylvia McNair’s cabaret performances have included such venues as the Carlyle Hotel, the Rainbow Room, the Algonquin Hotel’s Oak Room, and the Plaza Hotel.

Although she was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2006, McNair continues to tour. Instead of singing "V'adoro, pupille" as Cleopatra to Julius Caesar on the stage of the Metropolitan Opera, she will be soon be singing "Embraceable You" in Riceland Hall.

Tickets for all Fowler Center Series events may be purchased by calling 870-972-2781 or 1-888-278-3267, or online at http://tickets.astate.edu. On performance evenings, the box office in Fowler Center opens one hour prior to the event.

Ticket prices are $30 and $20 for adults; $24 and $16 for ASU faculty and staff; $23 and $15 for senior adults and K-12 students; and $10 and $6 for ASU students.

See www.fowlercenter.astate.edu/TicketInfo.html for season ticket information, including prices, or call the Fowler Center at (870) 972-3471 for more information.