Academic Interests and Areas of Expertise
Examining the context of art song, oratorio and opera within the humanities are of interest to me; art movements, political, economic and religious shifts within cultures inform performance practice and enhance my appreciation of poets and composers.
Lately I’ve been enriching my knowledge of Art Song by American composers such as Jake Heggie and Ricky Ian Gordan, as well as of established composers of Lied and Mélodie. I love to learn and assign music that is new to me, with little or no repetition from student to student; this means I’m coaching over a hundred different pieces each year, many of them for the first time.
Bringing music to life through fine musicianship and through understanding and delivery of the text has priority, keeps me mentally stimulated and is something I greatly enjoying nurturing in my students.
In the last few years my interest in composing has been revived. I enjoy searching for and setting poetry that lends itself well to song and choral music.
Background Highlights
The aspects of my professional career that I most enjoyed were rehearsals with fine stage directors who assisted us in developing individual characterization and meaningful ensemble work, both as actors and as musicians.
Courses Taught at Redlands
- Applied Voice Lessons
- Vocal Pedagogy
- Diction and Literature: English/German/Italian/French
- Romantic Music Literature, Graduate Seminar
- Robert Schumann, Graduate Seminar
- Becoming a Scholar Musician, Graduate Seminar
- Opera Theatre Workshop
- Independent Studies in Lieder
- Introduction to Classical Voice
Education
- California State University Fullerton: Music, Languages, Theatre and General Ed. courses
- San Francisco Conservatory: Music courses
- California State University Sacramento: B.M. Vocal Performance: completed in 1993
- California State University Sacramento: M.A. Vocal Performance: completed in 1994
- University of Oregon: D.M.A. in Vocal Performance: Secondary in Music History: 1996
Previous Teaching Experience
- Youngstown State University, Youngstown, Ohio: Assistant Professor
- University of Oregon, Eugene: Graduate Teaching Fellow
- California State University Sacramento: Graduate Assistant in Opera
- Southwestern University, Georgetown, Texas: Visiting stage director and vocal instructor
- Patton Military Music School, Heidelberg, Germany: Voice and piano instructor
Professional Experience
- Private Piano and Vocal Studios in California, Oregon, Ohio and Germany
- Soloist and pianist, various religious denominations, California and Germany
- Accompanist, Orange Coast College, Costa Mesa, California
Awards and Honors
- Longfellow Chorus: First Prize for Solo Vocal Art Song composition
- Bel Canto Award, Belgium International Competition
- Finalist San Francisco Auditions
- Gladys Turk Foundation Grant
- Mobile Oil Grant
- Civitan Special Olympics Fund Raising Award
Professional Affiliations
- University of Redlands, School of Music
- National Association of Teachers of Voice (NATS)
- ASCAP
- International Alliance of Women Composers (IAWM)
- American Composers Forum (ACF)
Professor Tosh has served as faculty advisor to the Musical Theatre Club and to the Mortarboard Committee for selection of Commencement soloists.
Additional Informations
A faculty member at the University of Redlands since 1999, Dr. Tosh is the head of the School of Music’s vocal program and is also graduate coordinator. Melissa Tosh’s primary singing engagements in Europe were as lyric-coloratura soloist with the Heidelberg Castle Summer Festival and the Stadttheater Hildesheim ensembles, with guestings in Braunschweig, Peine, Giessen, Hagen and a tour of theatres in Southern Germany and Switzerland. Stateside, her performances took place in California, Oregon and Ohio, many in community and college productions.
Melissa Tosh has performed extensively in more than forty works. Operatic leads include Lucia in Lucia di Lammermoor, Gilda in Rigoletto, Susanna and Countess in Le nozze di Figaro, Angelica and La Principessa in Suor Angelica, Despina and Fiordiligi in Cosí fan tutte, Martha in Martha, Gretel and Mutter in Hänsel und Gretel, Sophie in Werther, La Prima Donna in Viva la Mamma, Célie in Signor Deluso, Miss Wordsworth in Albert Herring, Blondchen in Die Entführung aus dem Serail, Papagena in Die Zauberflöte, Magda in La Rondine and Baba the Medium in The Medium.
West Side Story, The Music Man, Carousel, The King and I, The Sound of Music and Dames at Sea number among her musical theatre performances. She has sung additional leads in operettas such as The Student Prince, Gräfin Mariza, Pirates of Penzance, Die Fledermaus, The Merry Widow, Giroflé-Giroflà, Die verkaufte Braut, Der Bettelstudent, Der Vogelhändler and Der Ziguenerbaron. Among oratorio engagements are Carmina Burana, Vivaldi Gloria and Magnificat, Messiah, Lord Nelson Mass, John Rutter Requiem and Fauré Requiem. Recently, Dr. Tosh has performed most often in mezzo repertoire.
Professor Tosh earned her doctorate at the University of Oregon, Eugene, and studied voice with Vladimir Shustroff, Egidia Bonessi, Paul Harms, James Miller and Jane Paul.