Sylvia V.C. Twine Papers

Sylvia V.C. Twine, mezzo-soprano, is a native of Washington, DC. Her artistry has been described as “powerfully affecting and her voice as ravishing and lush.” She has appeared at the White House, Smithsonian Institution, DAR Constitution Hall and on concert stages throughout the U.S., Canada, and abroad in recital, oratorios and operas including Verdi’s Requiem, Handel’s Messiah, Brittan‘s Albert Herring and Ravel’s, L’Enfant et les Sortileges. Other orchestral performances include the Michigan Pops orchestra, the German American Chorale and Orchestra of Hanau, West Germany and the Georgetown Orchestra.

Ms. Twine participated with George Shirley and members of the Savannah Symphony Orchestra in the acclaimed 1998 premiere of Montage for Martin, a contemporary oratorio. She has performed under the baton of composer/conductors Donald McCullough, and John Rutter. As a featured soloist, her performances include the Sylvia Olden Lee Memorial Concert at the John F. Kennedy Center, a reprise of Montage for Martin with Yolanda King (daughter of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.) at the Benaroya Hall in Seattle, Washington; The Holocaust Cantata at the John F. Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. and Piccolo Spoleto in Charleston, South Carolina; Mutual Inspiration Festival at the Embassy of the Czech Republic 2011.

Sylvia is a founding member of Tre Mezzi; a performing trio of mezzo-sopranos who perform primarily the musical works of African-American Composers. Tre Mezzi has performed throughout the Washington, DC Metropolitan area in venues such as the Reginald Lewis Museum, and the Czech Embassy.

Ms. Twine received her Master of Music from the University of Michigan and studied with the noted tenor George Shirley. Her awards and honors include 1993 Presser Foundation Award and Scholarship (Armstrong State College), the 1996 Martin Luther King Spirit Award (University of Michigan), winner of the 1997 North Central District Leontyne Price Vocal Arts Competition.

Presently, Ms. Twine is on the voice faculty at The Duke Ellington School of the Arts in Washington, DC where she directs The Sophisticated Ladies; serves as local chair of The George Shirley African American Art Song & Operatic Aria Competition; and is Music Director for St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in Washington, D.C. In the spring of 2016, Ms. Twine founded Our Legacy Productions and launched Porgy and Bess a Concert the company’s premiere production.

[Source: Coro Allegro website, featured archivist biography, 2018-2019]