Faculty Name
Pamela Dillard
Title
Voice Instructor
Department
Music
Phone
404-270-5476
Office Location
Milligan 2102
Education
M.M., Boston University
B.F.A., Newcomb College of Tulane University
Biography
Mezzo-Soprano, Pamela Dillard, made her professional operatic debut as Irina in Lost in the Stars with Boston Lyric Opera staged by dancer/choreographer Bill T. Jones. She made her debut with San Francisco Opera (SFO) as Victoire in the world premiere of The Dangerous Liaisons (telecast nationally for Great Performances on PBS). She has returned to SFO to sing roles in Rusalka, Carmen, Manon, and Wagner’s Die Walküre. She returned to Boston Lyric as Ursula in Béatrice and Bénédict and Meg Page in Falstaff. Of her James Schwabacher Debut Recital presented by the San Francisco Opera Center, Joshua Kosman of the San Francisco Chronicle raved by stating, “Dillard,..turns out to be a forceful presence – both regal and vivacious with a winningly rich hued voice to match.” She also caught the international attention of critics for her stunning portrayal of the title role of Hélène in Opera Theatre of Saint Louis’(OTSL) production of La Belle Hélène. She has also appeared for OTSL as Meg Page in Falstaff and Suzuki in Madama Butterfly. Dillard has sung with several other American opera companies domestically, including, Atlanta Opera, Opera Carolina, Opera Columbus, Tulsa Opera, as well as internationally with The Opéra-Comique of Paris, France, in their first production of Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess appearing as Lily Holmes in Paris, Normandi and Granada, Spain.
On the concert stage, Dillard made her debut as the featured soloist in Prokofiev’s Alexander Nevsky with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and returned the following season to sing the title role in Bizet’s "Carmen." She has appeared with Boston Symphony Orchestra, Saint Louis Symphony, Colorado Symphony, New Haven Symphony, Brooklyn Philharmonic, Cobb Symphony Orchestra, and many others. She was featured in the role of Bess in a concert performance of Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess with Plano Symphony in Plano, Texas. She has sung under the baton of great conductors such as the grammy-nominated composer John Williams, Robert Spano, Donald Runnicles, Stephen Lord, Yoel Levi, Seiji Ozawa, Dr. David Morrow and Maestro Keith Lockhart when she was presented in a tribute concert for the centenary birth of Marian Anderson with the Boston Pops Orchestra.
Dillard, a versatile artist, performs regularly in her native Atlanta as a concert artist, recitalist, in operas, and as a featured soloist with many area churches. Recent performances include the role of Marian Anderson in the recital-opera "Sing, Marian, Sing" with Americolor Opera Alliance written and arranged for Dillard by the Atlanta composer Dr. Sharon Willis. She was also recently heard in Handel’s Messiah with The Trey Clegg Singers. Upcoming performances include a fourth appearance as a featured artist on the concert “Sisters in Song” performing with some of Atlanta’s leading female jazz singers celebrating America’s Jazz Divas and a guest appearance for a tribute memorial service for the late Toni Morrison. She also can be heard annually on holiday concerts in Atlanta, Augusta, GA, and in Florida.
Dillard has been on faculty at Spelman College as a Professor of Voice since 2005. She was recently selected to conduct the Junior Youth Choir of Atlanta Music Project, a non-profit music agency providing instrumental and choral programs as well as private music lessons to Atlanta’s youth. She is on the board of Capitol City Opera Company in Atlanta. She is a member of NANM, Inc. where serves as Corresponding Secretary of her local chapter - "Metropolitan Atlanta Musicians Association, Inc.", and as Financial Secretary of the Southeastern Region.
Dillard earned her B.F.A. from Newcomb College of Tulane University. She was the recipient of the Martin Luther King Graduate Fellowship at Boston University, where she received her M.M. She can be heard on the recording Watch and Pray, Spirituals and Art Songs by African American Women Composers produced by Koch International Classics (Videmus), as the featured soloist for the Grammy nominated soundtrack to Stephen Spielberg’s Amistad; and William Grant Still’s Highway One for Visionary Records (Videmus). She is the recipient of many study grants and awards including a Thomas J. Watson Fellowship, which provided her a year of travel and study in Great Britain and Europe, The Richard Gaddes Fund Award from Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, and a Richard Strauss study grant from the Merola Opera Program of San Francisco Opera Center.
Courses Taught
Applied Vocal Lessons