John Augenblick
Coordinator of Choral Studies
Dr. Augenblick is an Associate Professor of Music and
the Coordinator of Choral Studies at the Florida International University
School of Music, where he conducts the Concert Choir and Miami Master
Chorale, coordinates the choral program, and teaches undergraduate and
graduate conducting. Ensembles under his direction have performed for
state, regional and national conferences and have won major international
competition.
He received the his Doctor of Musical Arts degree in
Choral Conducting from the University of Miami. Further education has
included study with choral artists Robert Page, Elmer Eisler, Richard
Westenberg, Gregg Smith and Vance George. He has prepared choruses for
such notable conductors as Michael Tilson Thomas, Robert Page, Eduardo
Mata, Carlos Piantini, and Robert Craft. His ensembles are recorded on
the Capstone and CRI label. His is also Director of Music at the Kendall
Community Church of God in Miami and frequently serves as a clinician
and adjudicator for local, state, and national music competitions, workshops
and symposiums.
He is both founder and conductor of the Miami Master
Chorale and has served as the Director of Choral Activities at Florida
International University since 1981. Choirs under his direction have been
recognized throughout the United States for their excellence.
Dr. Augenblick has also conducted performances of Mozartâs
Coronation Mass, Handel's Judas Maccabaeus, Monteverdi's
Magnificat Primi Toni, Hayden's Harmoniemesse, Orlando
Jacinto Garcia's Auschwitz, Honegger's King David,
and Gershwin's Porgy and Bess (concert version). In 1994
he developed a concert entitled Chant and Beyond tracing
the development of sacred choral music from its roots in Gregorian chant
to the present.
In the photo above, Dr. Augenblick is shown holding the
award the FIU Concert Choir received for winning their category at the
Interculture International Choir Competition in Ft. Lauderdale, FL. |
Robert B. Dundas
Coordinator of Vocal Studies
Robert Bryant Dundas is an Associate Professor of Music and Coordinator
of Vocal Studies/Opera Theater at Florida International University. A native of Keene, NH, he completed his graduate studies in Voice and
Opera at the University of Iowa. Following his studies, Dundas
worked briefly as an assistant stage director under Nathaniel Merrill
at the Metropolitan Opera before embarking on a career as a tenor soloist
in Europe. He held full-time engagements in Annaberg, Flensburg,
Freiberg and Saarbruecken in Germany and made guest appearances at theaters
in Denmark, the Czech Republic and Switzerland. His roles included Almaviva,
Tamino, Don Ottavio, Nemorino, the Duke of Mantua and numerous operetta
roles.
Since his return to the United States, he has appeared with the Bel Canto
Society of Cape Cod and the Cape Cod Opera Company. He has also been a
soloist on the Monomoy Chamber Music Series in Massachussetts, with the
Miami Master Chorale and the Miami Bach Society. In 1999, he was
the tenor soloist in a rare concert performance of Stravinsky's Les
Noces , conducted by Robert Craft. He has also appeared in concert
at the National Arboretum in Washington, DC and with the National Orchestra
of the Dominican Republic. In July, 2004, he performed a new work
by FIU composer, Fredrick Kaufman, Echoes for voice, oboe and
viola at the national convention of the National Association of Teachers
of Singing in New Orleans.
Prof. Dundas maintains a busy second career as an opera stage director,
directing Amahl and the Night Visitors for the West Georgia Opera
Theater and Viktor Ullmann's Der Kaiser von Atlantis
and Peter Maxwell Davies' Eight Songs for a Mad King for the
FIU Music Festival. He also collaborated with the distinguished
American composer Lukas Foss on a production of his Introductions
and Goodbyes. At FIU he directed the premieres of new works
by Kristine H. Burns (Cricketina, 2003) and Orlando Garcia (Transcending
Time, 2004). His productions in Germany included
Cimarosa's Il matrimonio segreto at the Herrnsheimer Schlossfestspiel,
Hindemith's Sancta Susanna at the Winterstein Theater in Annaberg
and Kalman's Graefin Mariza at the Greifensteiner Festspiel. Recent productions in Miami included Handel's Agrippina,
Mozart's Cosi fan tutte, Holst's Savitri and Purcell's
Dido and Aeneas.
In 2004 he made his debut with the Florida Grand Opera, singing the role
of Emperor Altoum in Puccini's Turandot. He will appear
with the company again in their 2005 season, singing the role of Pete
Peterson in Britten's Paul Bunyan.
Contact information:
Robert B. Dundas
Director, Vocal Studies/Opera
FIU School of Music
University Park Campus
Miami, FL 33199
Tel.: 305-348-3587
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