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Colin

                    LEVIN

Nordic Vocal Literature 

Dr. Colin Levin is a Nordic Vocal Repertory specialist, with a focus on the canon and lyric diction of the Icelandic Vocal Repertory, especially promoting the works of Jórunn Viðar (1918-2017). He additionally specializes in Repertoire Diversification, with significant experience in programming queer, female, and BIPOC composers, in the anticipation of this being the industry standard. Regularly requested for consultation to aid repertoire selections, he frequently works with University professors, students at the Doctoral, Masters, and Undergraduate level, as well as Young Artists programs. Levin is an American-Scandinavian Foundation (ASF) Fellow and is a Nordic diction coach for the Tanglewood Festival Chorus/Boston Symphony Orchestra, with recent preparations including Ibsen/Grieg's Peer Gynt and Sibelius' The Origin of Fire.

Levin frequently collaborates with living Nordic composers, including perf0rming world premiers by Sigrid Anita Haugen (NO), Nino Håkansson (SE), Stefan Sand Groves (DK) and Halldór Smárason (IS) who wrote the song cycle Fjallkonuljóð (The Poem of the Woman of the Mountain) for Levin which was premiered in Halldór's hometown of Ísafjörður, Iceland with the Við Djúpið Festival; and North American premiers including those by Eli Tausen á Lava (FO), Fredrik Österling (SE), and Sunleif Rasmussen (FO). Major international performances include those with Nordic Music Days in Glasgow, Scotland, Summartónar Festival throughout the Faroe Islands, 15:15 Tónleikasyrpan in Reykjavík, Iceland, Tónlistarmiðstöð Austurlands in Eskifjörður, Iceland, and the Nordisk Sångfestival in Trollhättan, Sweden. He additionally appears regularly in recital at Victor Borge Hall at Scandinavia House in New York City. 

Nordic art music lecture recitals include those given with the Society for the Advancement of Scandinavian Study Conference in Puerto Rico, Austin, TX, and Seattle, WA; the Centre for Scandinavian Studies Copenhagen-Lund-Hankuk (CSS) in Lund, Sweden; Listaháskóli Íslands/Iceland University of the Arts in Reykjavík, Iceland; and Universities in the United States including the Sam Houston State University Art Song Festival, Longy School of Music of Bard College, alma mater University of Illinois: Urbana-Champaign, and University of Wisconsin: Oshkosh as an invitation from Nordic Song expert Anna Hersey. In July 2023 he was a featured clinician at the National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS) Workshop in San Diego, CA presenting both on the “Foundational Nordic Vocal Literature Repertory” and “An Introduction to the Repertory and IPA of Iceland.” He additionally has recorded for both WNYC in New York City, as well as National Public Radio.

Levin currently serves as Associate Professor of Voice and is the principal professor for Vocal Literature at Long Island University: Brooklyn, and was on the Music History Faculty at the Boston University Tanglewood Institute from 2013-2022 as the Music History Program Coordinator. Levin holds a Bachelor of Music Degree from the Oberlin Conservatory, a Master of Music Degree from the University of Illinois: Champaign-Urbana, and a Doctor of Musical Arts Degree from Rutgers University where his doctoral dissertation "The Value of Icelandic Art Song within the Context of Higher Education" earned him the Irene Alm Memorial Prize for Excellence in Performance and Scholarly Research. He began researching Nordic Song post a winter term in Gothenburg, Sweden in 2007, with a specific focus on Icelandic repertory following an artist-in-residence position at the Landakotsskóli in Reykjavík, Iceland during the Spring of 2017. He additionally studied the Icelandic language at Háskólasetur Vestfjarða/University Centre of the Westfjords.

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Nordic Language Coaching,

Repertoire, & IPA Transcriptions

Colin coaches repertoire in Icelandic, Swedish, Norwegian (primarily Bokmål and Nynorsk) and Finnish, as well as offers consultation on Nordic Opera arias, Oratorio selections, and art songs. All coachings include IPA transcripts (excluding Finnish translation) created for the repertoire that the client is preparing.

 

Colin additionally writes IPA transcriptions for all of the aforementioned languages. Please allow two weeks for each transcription. Priority transcription delivery is priced accordingly.

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Repertoire Diversification

CONSULTATION

Colin is available for consultation in the implementation of repertoire diversification within University departments, or for the individual. Repertoire lists with specific repertoire goals built per client or Department. 
There are currently few resources for English speakers to access information online about much of the Nordic Art Song repertory*, with especially minimal information on Icelandic Art Song. I am collaborating with databases such as SongHelix in the hope of giving a larger audience the tools to explore this wonderful literature. I am currently developing a database for this literature, and am hopeful that it will be finished in 2021. Stay tuned!
* Swedish Song has a comprehensive database that can be explored at https://www.swedishmusicalheritage.com.
-Colin

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