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Home › People › Directory › Cynthia S Stokes

Cynthia S Stokes

Assistant Professor, Music

Music Bldg, Room 229
520-626-0322

M.F.A. University of California at San Diego

Stage and opera director Cynthia Stokes has devoted her professional career to creating provocative and thrilling productions across America. Her work has been praised for, “clear story-telling, theatrical sensibility and ashaving existential depths and evoking mythical resonance,” by the Philadelphia Inquirer; and, “funny and moving…The depiction of love and infidelity amid a troupe of traveling players was nimbly done, as was the fatal confluence of illusion and reality…” by the San Francisco Chronicle.

Up next for Ms. Stokes is a site-specific installation of the late Mexican composr Daniel Catán's  La Hija de Rappaccini  which will be presented on the campus of The University of Arizona in the outslide lobby of ENR2.  Other upcoming projects include a collaboration with composer Michael Ching for Amarillo Opera's production of Speed Dating. Recent productions include:  her new translation of Thamos, King of Egypt(Mozart)for Mainly Mozart, Orpheus in the Underworld for The University of Arizona and St. Francis de los Barrios for San Diego CITY Opera. 

Ms. Stokes is the Artistic Director of San Diego CITY Opera, San Diego’s newest opera company dedicated to encourage San Diegans to see their community in new positive ways by presenting opera in site-specific locations throughout the city.  CITY Opera’s first production, Queen of Carthage,a contemporary retelling of Dido and Aeneaswas part of La Jolla Playhouse’s Without Walls Festival in October 2015.  Music critic Jim Chute said,” they got to the beating, beautiful, timeless heart of Purcell’s 1688 masterpiece. Their 45-minute reduction of Purcell’s “Dido and Aeneas,” was an inspiration.  In the spring of 2016 she staged Dominick Argento’s song cycle The Andrée Expedition with three singers in an abandoned factory. Music critic Pam Kragen said, “ Stokes ends the engrossing piece with a surprising and moving theatrical flourish that features a soulful and stylish reunion of the dead and dying. Opera is at its best when it’s visceral, and City Opera’s imaginative conception of the tragic, true story of the Andrée Expedition has proven to be a natural.”

Directing highlights include: Silent Night for Piedmont Opera this fall; The Rape of Lucretia for University of Arizona’s Opera Workshop; Rigoletto for Opera Las Vegas, A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Mendelssohn) for Mainly Mozart; La Hija de Rappaccini for Alamo City Opera; Coping Mechanisms for New York’s Rhymes with Opera, and a new production ofThe Andrée Expedition for The Vermont Opera Project.South Pacific, Madama Butterfly and The Crucible for Piedmont Opera; Handel’s Acis and Galatea, Ricky Ian Gordon’s Orpheus & Euridice, Robert Xavier Rodriguez La Curandera for San Antonio’s Opera Piccola;The Italian Straw Hat for Amarillo Opera; Le nozze di Figaro for San Antonio Opera; Pagliacci for Opera San Jose. While at Glimmerglass Opera, she directed Le nozze di Figaro (cover cast) and staged members of The Young American Artists Program in Killer B’s, a cabaret-style celebration of American composers whose last names begin with the letter ‘B’; Roméo et Juliette for San Diego Opera; Madama Butterfly for Opera Company of Philadelphia; Homies and Popz (tour)for Los Angeles Opera; Margaret Garner for Cincinnati Opera and Opera Carolina. 

Ms. Stokes has collaborated with some of America’s most exciting composers and librettists including: Richard Danielpour and Toni Morrison on Margaret Garner for Cincinnati Opera and Opera Carolina, For Los Angeles Opera she co-wrote and directed Murder at the Opera with composer Edward Barnes. Schirmer Music publishes the opera.  Ms. Stokes background of collaborating with writers, composers and visual artists led to Music and Art of Fin-De-Siècle Vienna for the Los Angeles Philharmonic.  

An accomplished theatre director her work has been seen at American Conservatory Theatre, The Old Globe, The Piccolo Spoleto Festival, Wellfleet Harbor Actor’s Theatre and North Coast Rep. Ms. Stokes has also been on the directing staff at Dallas Opera, Glimmerglass Opera, Michigan Opera Theater, Opera Pacific and The Florentine Opera. 

Grants for Ms. Stokes include: A Qualcomm Ideas Grant for a workshop of St. Francis de los Barrios in 2017, New York Foundation for the Arts Artist in Residence Grant, Opera America Travel Grant,  The Lotta Crabtree Foundation Grant, Minnesota Opera’s New Music Theatre Ensemble Grant and A Quinn Martin Directing Grant.

Deeply committed to encouraging the next generation of artists and audiences, Ms. Stokes started La Jolla Playhouse’s Summer Conservatory and San Diego Opera’s Summer Opera Institute. Ms. Stokes is currently on faculty at The Taos Opera Institute and served as an NEA panelist for opera. She has also been a panelist for San Diego’s Commission for Arts and Culture. She holds a B.A. in Theater from Colorado State University and an M.FA., in Directing from the University of California at San Diego.

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The University of Arizona Fred Fox School of Music
14 hours ago
The University of Arizona Fred Fox School of Music

TONIGHT!
Final Round and Winners Recital of the
Eleventh Annual Lois Trester Piano Competition

Friday, April 16, 7:30 p.m. (MST / PDT)

Trester Festival for Latin American Music
April 16-18, 2021
Guest artists: Daniela Salinas, Glenda Courtois, Oscar Macchioni
Festival co-directors: Daniel Linder, Fanya Lin, Meily Mendez
Co-sponsored by the University of Arizona Center for Latin American Studies
.
For more information:


.
Program:
...
.
The first annual Trester Festival for Latin American music will include lectures, master classes, and concerts centered around Latin American piano music by guest artists including outstanding University of Arizona alumni and internationally renowned concert pianists. The 2021 festival will highlight work by Juan José Castro, Alberto Ginastera, Carlos Guastavino, Ernesto Nazareth, Astor Piazzolla, Manuel Ponce, Lilián Saba, Heitor Villa-Lobos, among others.
.
The core event of the Trester Festival is a solo piano competition for current UA Fred Fox School of Music students. Students will perform one or more Latin American piano works as part of their program in 2021.
.
All events will be online, free admission, and open to the public.
This project has been made possible by grants from the University of Arizona College of Fine Arts Bank One Visiting Artist Professorship Awards, the Fred Fox School of Music Endowed Chair for Music Studies, and the American Culture and Ideas Initiative.
... See MoreSee Less

TONIGHT!
Final Round and Winners Recital of the 
Eleventh Annual Lois Trester Piano Competition
https://bddy.me/3e8Hamn
Friday, April 16, 7:30 p.m. (MST / PDT)

Trester Festival for Latin American Music
April 16-18, 2021
Guest artists: Daniela Salinas, Glenda Courtois, Oscar Macchioni
Festival co-directors: Daniel Linder, Fanya Lin, Meily Mendez
Co-sponsored by the University of Arizona Center for Latin American Studies 
.
For more information: 
https://bddy.me/3tuJE52
https://bddy.me/2OTHUTQ
.
Program:
https://bddy.me/2P0r5a0...
.
The first annual Trester Festival for Latin American music will include lectures, master classes, and concerts centered around Latin American piano music by guest artists including outstanding University of Arizona alumni and internationally renowned concert pianists. The 2021 festival will highlight work by Juan José Castro, Alberto Ginastera, Carlos Guastavino, Ernesto Nazareth, Astor Piazzolla, Manuel Ponce, Lilián Saba, Heitor Villa-Lobos, among others.
.
The core event of the Trester Festival is a solo piano competition for current UA Fred Fox School of Music students. Students will perform one or more Latin American piano works as part of their program in 2021.
.
All events will be online, free admission, and open to the public.
This project has been made possible by grants from the University of Arizona College of Fine Arts Bank One Visiting Artist Professorship Awards, the Fred Fox School of Music Endowed Chair for Music Studies, and the American Culture and Ideas Initiative.
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The University of Arizona Fred Fox School of Music
2 days ago
The University of Arizona Fred Fox School of Music

Trester Festival for Latin American Music
April 16-18, 2021
Guest artists: Daniela Salinas, Glenda Courtois, Oscar Macchioni
Festival co-directors: Daniel Linder, Fanya Lin, Meily Mendez
Co-sponsored by the University of Arizona Center for Latin American Studies

For more information:



Program:
https://wpu.cfa.arizona.edu/wp-content/uploads/…

The first annual Trester Festival for Latin American music will include lectures, master classes, and concerts centered around Latin American piano music by guest artists including outstanding University of Arizona alumni and internationally renowned concert pianists. The 2021 festival will highlight work by Juan José Castro, Alberto Ginastera, Carlos Guastavino, Ernesto Nazareth, Astor Piazzolla, Manuel Ponce, Lilián Saba, Heitor Villa-Lobos, among others.

The core event of the Trester Festival is a solo piano competition for current UA Fred Fox School of Music students. Students will perform one or more Latin American piano works as part of their program in 2021.

All events will be online, free admission, and open to the public.

This project has been made possible by grants from the University of Arizona College of Fine Arts Bank One Visiting Artist Professorship Awards, the Fred Fox School of Music Endowed Chair for Music Studies, and the American Culture and Ideas Initiative.
... See MoreSee Less

Trester Festival for Latin American Music
April 16-18, 2021
Guest artists: Daniela Salinas, Glenda Courtois, Oscar Macchioni
Festival co-directors: Daniel Linder, Fanya Lin, Meily Mendez
Co-sponsored by the University of Arizona Center for Latin American Studies 

For more information: 
https://bddy.me/32cveut
https://bddy.me/2QjTJTH

Program:
https://wpu.cfa.arizona.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2021/04/14143650/ProgramTresterFestivalforLatinAmericanMusicApril2021.pdf

The first annual Trester Festival for Latin American music will include lectures, master classes, and concerts centered around Latin American piano music by guest artists including outstanding University of Arizona alumni and internationally renowned concert pianists. The 2021 festival will highlight work by Juan José Castro, Alberto Ginastera, Carlos Guastavino, Ernesto Nazareth, Astor Piazzolla, Manuel Ponce, Lilián Saba, Heitor Villa-Lobos, among others.

The core event of the Trester Festival is a solo piano competition for current UA Fred Fox School of Music students. Students will perform one or more Latin American piano works as part of their program in 2021.

All events will be online, free admission, and open to the public.

This project has been made possible by grants from the University of Arizona College of Fine Arts Bank One Visiting Artist Professorship Awards, the Fred Fox School of Music Endowed Chair for Music Studies, and the American Culture and Ideas Initiative.
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Felicidades Glenda!!!

The University of Arizona Fred Fox School of Music
2 days ago
The University of Arizona Fred Fox School of Music

Give it up for the Class of 2021! Wildcat families, alumns, and supporters of all stripes, send in your congratulations message today @. #WildcatForLife #BearDownGrad ... See MoreSee Less

Give it up for the Class of 2021! Wildcat families, alumns, and supporters of all stripes, send in your congratulations message today @.https://bddy.me/3sefJNb #WildcatForLife #BearDownGrad
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The University of Arizona Fred Fox School of Music
2 days ago
The University of Arizona Fred Fox School of Music

We are delighted to announce this week's masterclass within the UA Bolton Guitar Studies Virtual Series where students of Bolton Guitar Studies will perform for legendary classical guitarist David Russell. DMA candidate Andres Pantoja and MM candidate Andrea Roberto prepared works by E. Grieg and J. S. Bach.

This event is scheduled for Friday, April 16th at 11:00 a.m. (MST). The meeting will last one hour and a half with a Q & A segment towards the end and it will be live streamed on the University of Arizona Guitar Studies Facebook page, where audience can submit their questions through chat.

To access the meeting simply go to the Bolton Guitar Studies website and click on the link for the Zoom meeting, found below the flyer:


The password to enter this virtual class will be sent by email to all interested parties. If you would like to be a part of this virtual class please email Ana Maria Iordache (anamariaiordache@email.arizona.edu) and let her know your name and affiliation.

In the case you have missed the fall season featuring great artists such as David Russell, María Jesús Rodriguez, Sérgio Assad, Dennis Tolz, Antonius Müller, Douglas James, Joaquín Clerch, Stephen Goss, Xianji Liu, Stephan Connor, Berta Rojas, Misael Barraza Díaz, Judicaël Perroy, Marco Tamayo, Pavel Steidl, they are now available on the Bolton Guitar Studies official website:
... See MoreSee Less

We are delighted to announce this weeks masterclass within the UA Bolton Guitar Studies Virtual Series where students of Bolton Guitar Studies will perform for legendary classical guitarist David Russell. DMA candidate Andres Pantoja and MM candidate Andrea Roberto prepared works by E. Grieg and J. S. Bach.

This event is scheduled for Friday, April 16th at 11:00 a.m. (MST). The meeting will last one hour and a half with a Q & A segment towards the end and it will be live streamed on the University of Arizona Guitar Studies Facebook page, where audience can submit their questions through chat.

To access the meeting simply go to the Bolton Guitar Studies website and click on the link for the Zoom meeting, found below the flyer:
https://bddy.me/32iTmeE

The password to enter this virtual class will be sent by email to all interested parties. If you would like to be a part of this virtual class please email Ana Maria Iordache (anamariaiordache@email.arizona.edu) and let her know your name and affiliation.

In the case you have missed the fall season featuring great artists such as David Russell, María Jesús Rodriguez, Sérgio Assad, Dennis Tolz, Antonius Müller, Douglas James, Joaquín Clerch, Stephen Goss, Xianji Liu, Stephan Connor, Berta Rojas, Misael Barraza Díaz, Judicaël Perroy, Marco Tamayo, Pavel Steidl, they are now available on the Bolton Guitar Studies official website:
https://bddy.me/3tweZEF
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The University of Arizona Fred Fox School of Music
4 days ago
The University of Arizona Fred Fox School of Music

Emmet Cohen
"Entrepreneurship and Jazz: Adapting to a New Business of Music"
Virtual Guest Artist
University of Arizona Jazz Studies
April 22, 2021 at 6pm MST

Please email Dr. Angelo Versace (aversace@arizona.edu) to join our online audience

Multifaceted American jazz pianist and composer Emmet Cohen is one of his generation's pivotal figures in music and the related arts. Downbeat praised the "nimble touch, measured stride and warm harmonic vocabulary" he employs to communicate with other musicians and audiences at what he terms "the deepest level of humanity and individuality." Leader of the "Emmet Cohen Trio" and creator of the "Masters Legacy Series," Cohen is an internationally acclaimed jazz artist and dedicated music educator.

Emmet Cohen is the winner of the 2019 American Pianists Awards and the Cole Porter Fellow of the American Pianists Association, and Artist-in-Residence at the University of Indianapolis. He was a finalist in the 2011 Thelonious Monk International Piano Competition. Cohen has appeared at major international jazz festivals and at Lincoln Center's Rose Hall and Washington's Kennedy Center, in addition to headlining at the Village Vanguard and other major New York jazz clubs. For many years he was Hammond B-3 Organist-in-Residence at Harlem's SMOKE jazz club. During the lockdown he created "Live From Emmet's Place," a weekly livestream that received millions of internet views worldwide. Cohen is a Mack Avenue artist.

A Suzuki piano student at age three, Cohen holds jazz piano degrees from the Manhattan School of Music (M.M.) and the University of Miami (B.M.). Emmet Cohen has performed, recorded, or collaborated with Ron Carter, Benny Golson, Jimmy Cobb, George Coleman, Jimmy Heath, Tootie Heath, Houston Person, Christian McBride, Kurt Elling, Billy Hart, Herlin Riley, Lea DeLaria, and Bill T. Jones.
... See MoreSee Less

Emmet Cohen
Entrepreneurship and Jazz: Adapting to a New Business of Music
Virtual Guest Artist
University of Arizona Jazz Studies
April 22, 2021 at 6pm MST

Please email Dr. Angelo Versace (aversace@arizona.edu) to join our online audience

Multifaceted American jazz pianist and composer Emmet Cohen is one of his generations pivotal figures in music and the related arts. Downbeat praised the nimble touch, measured stride and warm harmonic vocabulary he employs to communicate with other musicians and audiences at what he terms the deepest level of humanity and individuality. Leader of the Emmet Cohen Trio and creator of the Masters Legacy Series, Cohen is an internationally acclaimed jazz artist and dedicated music educator.

Emmet Cohen is the winner of the 2019 American Pianists Awards and the Cole Porter Fellow of the American Pianists Association, and Artist-in-Residence at the University of Indianapolis. He was a finalist in the 2011 Thelonious Monk International Piano Competition. Cohen has appeared at major international jazz festivals and at Lincoln Centers Rose Hall and Washingtons Kennedy Center, in addition to headlining at the Village Vanguard and other major New York jazz clubs. For many years he was Hammond B-3 Organist-in-Residence at Harlems SMOKE jazz club. During the lockdown he created Live From Emmets Place, a weekly livestream that received millions of internet views worldwide. Cohen is a Mack Avenue artist.

A Suzuki piano student at age three, Cohen holds jazz piano degrees from the Manhattan School of Music (M.M.) and the University of Miami (B.M.). Emmet Cohen has performed, recorded, or collaborated with Ron Carter, Benny Golson, Jimmy Cobb, George Coleman, Jimmy Heath, Tootie Heath, Houston Person, Christian McBride, Kurt Elling, Billy Hart, Herlin Riley, Lea DeLaria, and Bill T. Jones.
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  • Likes: 5
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The University of Arizona Fred Fox School of Music
1 week ago
The University of Arizona Fred Fox School of Music

The University of Arizona Fred Fox School of Music
Friday Night at Fred Fox - Concerto Competition Winners
Friday, April 9, 2021 at 7:00 p.m.

Program: https://wpu.cfa.arizona.edu/wp-content/uploads/…

Yongjae Lee, baritone
Carissa Powe, violin
Colin Nossek, clarinet
Soo Yoen Kim, piano
... See MoreSee Less

The University of Arizona Fred Fox School of Music
Friday Night at Fred Fox - Concerto Competition Winners 
Friday, April 9, 2021 at 7:00 p.m.
https://bddy.me/3mzMEKO
Program: https://wpu.cfa.arizona.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2021/04/12170358/ProgramConcertoCompetitionWinnersApril2021-1.pdf

Yongjae Lee,  baritone
Carissa Powe, violin 
Colin Nossek, clarinet
Soo Yoen Kim, piano
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  • Likes: 5
  • Shares: 3
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