Kimberly Lazzeri, soprano
Kimberly Gelbwasser Lazzeri, soprano, is Associate Professor of Voice and Vocal Area Coordinator at Northern Kentucky University’s School of the Arts (NKU SOTA). After completing a three-year term as Music Program Head, Dr. Lazzeri was awarded a sabbatical to record her first album. She is thrilled to release Freylekh: A “joyful” rediscovery of De Cormier’s Yiddish folksongs. The album was produced through the generous support of the Ohio Arts Council, the Susan and Murray Bloom Jewish Music Foundation, and NKU.
Dr. Lazzeri’s passion lies in performing song. Of her singing, American composer Jake Heggie wrote, “In addition to a wonderful humanity, beautiful voice, and depth of feeling, Kimberly also brought joy: the joy I feel is essential to singing—and sometimes missing! She loves to sing and she loves to sing songs.” Dr. Lazzeri also regularly pursues her love for theatre. Locally, she has appeared with The Commonwealth Theatre Company and the Covedale Center for the Performing Arts. Nationally, she has appeared with Sierra Repertory Theatre, Pear Avenue Theatre, and Bus Barn Stage Company. Dr. Lazzeri’s operatic roles include Susanna in Le nozze di Figaro, Adele in Die Fledermaus, and Despina in Così fan tutte. Her concert repertoire includes Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9, Brahms's Ein deutsches Requiem, Handel's Messiah, Mendelssohn's Elijah and Psalm 42, Mozart’s Requiem, Respighi's Laud to the Nativity, and Vivaldi's Gloria.
Additionally, Dr. Lazzeri enjoys an active performance career in chamber music. She is pleased to be a member of the Zia Trio (soprano, clarinet, and piano), whose repertoire includes Gordon’s Orpheus & Euridice, Rorem’s Ariel, and Spohr’s Sechs deutsche Lieder, which the trio was invited to perform at the International Clarinet Association’s ClarinetFest. As part of other chamber-music collaborations, Dr. Lazzeri has been invited to perform at the North American Saxophone Alliance Biennial Conference and the National Conference on Keyboard Pedagogy.
Dr. Lazzeri’s research has focused on the following topics: The Musical Portrayal of "Lust for Life and Adversity" in Selected Songs by Leonard Bernstein and "To Be an American": How Irving Berlin Assimilated Jewishness and Blackness in his Early Songs. She is currently a cantorial soloist at the Isaac M. Wise Temple, which holds services at the historic Plum Street Temple in downtown Cincinnati.
Dr. Lazzeri is a former president of the Kentucky Chapter of the National Association of Teachers of Singing and has twice served as music faculty at the Kentucky Institute for International Studies in Salzburg, Austria. Prior to arriving in Kentucky in 2014, she served as Instructor of Voice at Eastern New Mexico University and as Visiting Professor of Voice at the University of North Florida.
In 2016, Dr. Lazzeri was awarded the Outstanding Junior Faculty Award in the College of Arts and Sciences at NKU. One of her favorite courses to teach at NKU is “Yoga for Creativity,” as she is a certified Kripalu yoga instructor.
Dr. Lazzeri holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree and a Master of Music degree in Vocal Performance from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, where she studied with Barbara Honn. Dr. Lazzeri holds a Bachelor of Music degree in Vocal Performance from Northwestern University. To learn more, visit “Kimberly Gelbwasser Lazzeri Voice Studio” on Facebook.
William Herzog, violin
Part violinist, part pedagogue and part investigator, Dr. William Herzog has devoted his career to exploring the intersection between the communicative power of music and the science of learning.
In his playing, technical facility and interpretation serve the greater purpose of bridging the gaps between audience, performer, and composer. His emotive, narrative-based approach to performance, described as “powerful and expressive” [The Music Times] and “technically dazzling” [All About the Arts], is one component in a multifaceted career devoted to contextualizing music in the greater picture of human potential and interconnectedness.
As Assistant Professor of Violin and Area Coordinator of Aural Skills at Northern Kentucky University, Dr. Herzog exercises an ever-evolving, exploratory approach to teaching, using tools from different musical subdisciplines to create a broad and nuanced approach to musical learning. Applied music classes are enriched by gamification, mental practice, and projects customized from class input, while private lesson students benefit from creative rhythm and aural skills exercises, custom-composed etudes, and a focus on fostering independence. Dr. Herzog’s approach to pedagogy, continually developing to serve the needs of each specific student, is fueled by the alchemy of watching his students do more than they thought possible. In the words of former student Will Ejzak: “Dr. Herzog’s deep understanding of the technical, psychological, and emotional aspects of violin-playing, and his ability to communicate this knowledge clearly and empathetically is unparalleled, even among the many excellent teachers I’ve had.”
Beyond expanding the contents of his pedagogical toolbox, Dr. Herzog is also committed to making teaching techniques and resources accessible to a wider audience. His dedication to spreading knowledge has led to publications and presentations in a wide variety of journals and professional conferences, including Strad Magazine, American Music Teacher, American String Teacher, the Kentucky Music Educators Association conference, and the American String Teachers’ Association national conference. Dr. Herzog has a particular interest in elucidating the process of musical memorization. His guest lectures and workshops on musical memory have met with enthusiasm at universities across the United States and Canada. He is currently developing a scientific study on musical memorization in collaboration with Dr. Kalif Vaughn and the NKU Department of Psychological Science.
Christina Seal, piano
Praised for her "effortless" playing, pianist Christina Lalog Seal balances a career as a performing artist, published musician, and collegiate piano faculty member (Daily Camera, Boulder). A few of her collaborative highlights include live broadcasts on Wisconsin Public Radio, a recording of Festive Arias, Volume II, performances with the Mark Morris production of Britten’s Curlew River, and an appearance with The First Song Series at the Morgan Library & Museum. A varied musician, Christina prepared the keyboard reductions for Handel’s Messiah: The Solo Variants with critical commentary by Chester Alwes. She has also presented at the National Conference on Keyboard Pedagogy.
Christina has spent summers as a collaborative pianist at Tanglewood Music Center, Music Academy of the West, and Brevard Music Center, among others. As a staff pianist, she performed with the National Summer Cello Institute, Interlochen Summer Arts Camp, Gesher Music Festival, and Kentucky Governor’s School for the Arts.
Dr. Seal is currently part of the piano faculty at Northern Kentucky University. Her studies include degrees from Stetson University, Eastman School of Music, University of Colorado-Boulder, and a Post-Graduate Fellowship at Bard Conservatory. While at CU-Boulder, Christina enjoyed her time as Music Director of the Eklund Opera Theater Singers and CU-NOW’s Composer Fellows’ Initiative. Christina is an active freelance pianist in the Cincinnati area and has performed with the Cincinnati Song Initiative, Music for All Seasons Series, and Cincinnati Opera Outreach.
