Holiday Pops
December 19 & 20, 2009

Diane Penning, soprano

Diane Penning’s coloratura soprano voice has been described as, “clear, free flying and of exciting timbre” and “thrilling…exquisite…with gorgeous top notes.”

Equally at home singing classical repertoire and pops, Ms. Penning has performed with orchestras around the country, in programs of both genres, including the Colorado Springs Symphony; the Dayton Philharmonic; the Dearborn, DuPage, Elgin, Elmhurst, Grand Rapids, and Grant Park Music Festival Symphonies; the Interlochen Arts Academy; and the Kalamazoo, Lafayette, Midland, Park Ridge, Saginaw Bay, Sheboygan, South Bend, South West Michigan, the Traverse and the West Shore Symphonies.

Her musical theater credits include Cunegonde in Candide; Marian in The Music Man; Amalia in She Loves Me; Maria in West Side Story; and “the grouch” in Kapilow’s Green Eggs & Ham. Diane’s work in oratorio includes Bach’s B minor Mass and Christmas Oratorio; Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony; Fauré’s Requiem; Handel’s Messiah; Haydn’s Creation, Harmonie Messe, and Lord Nelson Mass; Mozart’s Requiem; Orff’s Carmina Burana; Poulenc’s Gloria; Rutter’s Magnificat under the baton of Sir David Willcocks; and Vaughan Williams’s Dona Nobis Pacem, with such organizations as the Apollo Chorus in Chicago’s Orchestra Hall, the Kalamazoo Bach Festival, and the Calvin College Oratorio Society. Her opera roles include Adele in Die Fledermaus, Frasquita in Carmen; Musetta in La Boheme; and Papagena in The Magic Flute.

She holds degrees in music and voice from the University of Michigan (Bachelor of Music) and Western Michigan University (Master of Music in voice performance.)