Jacobs School of Music appoints Michelle DeYoung and Tichina Vaughn to voice faculty

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – The Indiana University Jacobs School of Music is pleased to announce the appointments of mezzo-sopranos Michelle DeYoung and Tichina Vaughn to its Voice Department faculty, effective Aug. 1.

DeYoung, currently a vising associate professor at Jacobs, has been named professor of practice in voice, while Vaughn has been appointed associate professor of music in voice.

Each continues to enjoy a distinguished intercontinental career, performing at some of the world’s most prestigious venues with many of the most renowned orchestras.

“Throughout Michelle DeYoung’s previous year with us, she has truly lived up to her reputation as ‘the real deal,’” said Abra Bush, David Henry Jacobs Bicentennial Dean. “As a consummate professional with a vast knowledge of repertoire and exceptional world-stage performance experience, she will continue to lovingly guide our students toward their own successes.

“We are doubly fortunate to be able to also welcome Tichina Vaughn, another world-renowned Grammy winner, to our Voice Department. While Tichina’s outstanding international performance career has showcased her vocal prowess and artistic integrity, her innate teaching ability has shone in the classroom and her studio, and we cannot wait until she shares her impressive experience with our students.”

Multi-Grammy Award-winner DeYoung is in demand throughout the world, appearing regularly with the New York Philharmonic, London Symphony Orchestra and Concertgebouworkest, among others. She has appeared multiple times with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra and sang Kundry in concert performances of “Parsifal” at Opera Australia.

The Metropolitan Opera, Berliner Staatsoper and Paris Opera are a few of the numerous leading companies DeYoung has worked with. Additional roles include Fricka, Sieglinde and Waltraute in “The Ring Cycle,” Venus in “Tannhäuser,” Brangäne in “Tristan und Isolde” and many more. She created the role of the Shaman in Tan Dun’s “The First Emperor” at the Met.

Her impressive discography includes “Das Rheingold,” “Die Walküre” and “Götterdämmerung” with Jaap van Zweden and the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra (Naxos), “Kindertotenlieder,” Mahler’s Symphony No. 3 and “Das Klagende Lied” with Michael Tilson Thomas and the San Francisco Symphony (SFS Media) and “Les Troyens” with Sir Colin Davis and the London Symphony Orchestra (LSO Live!), among others. Her most recent recording of Mahler’s “Das Lied von der Erde” with the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra (Deutsche Grammophon) was released in July 2021.

DeYoung, tenor Paul Groves and actress Dietlinde Turban Maazel established the young artist Vocal Immersion Program at Castleton in 2020. In 2021, DeYoung launched Ensemble Charité, an organization that aims to support various charities while also fostering young, emerging musicians through community performances of chamber concerts with seasoned professional musicians, which she conducts.

Also a Grammy Award winner, Vaughn is known as an outstanding singing actress versatile in opera, operetta, musical theater and jazz. She began her operatic career as a member of the Metropolitan Opera’s Lindemann Young Artist Program directly after earning a bachelor’s degree in vocal performance from the University of North Carolina School of the Arts.

Vaughn opened the 2022-23 season on tour with the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra singing multiple roles in “Porgy and Bess,” led by Alan Gilbert. She later joined the Utah Opera as Mary in “Der fliegende Holländer” before debuting with Opéra de Lyon as the Old Lady in “Candide.” She then returned to the role of Amneris in “Aida” with Fort Worth Opera and closes the season with Opera Theatre of Saint Louis as Monisha in a new production of Scott Joplin’s “Treemonisha,” reimagined by composer Damien Sneed.

Last season featured Vaughn’s return to the Metropolitan Opera for “Porgy and Bess,” The Hostess of the Inn in “Boris Godunov” and Serving Woman 1 in “Elektra.” She also debuted with Boston Lyric Opera as Emelda in Terence Blanchard’s “Champion,” and in the summer of 2022, she joined the Cincinnati Opera as Amneris in “Aida.”

The 2023-24 season features a return to her hometown of Winston-Salem, North Carolina, for performances of Azucena in “Il Trovatore” with Piedmont Opera as well as her Royal Opera House debut as the Witch in “Hansel and Gretel.”

From 2010 to 2018, Vaughn was engaged as a principal artist at Semperoper Dresden, and from 1997 until 2006, she was engaged as a principal artist at the State Opera of Stuttgart, where she was awarded the title of Kammersängerin.

“We are so thrilled with the possibilities presented by Tichina Vaughn and Michelle DeYoung,” said Brian Horne, chair of the Voice Department. “Their careers have spanned the globe and now they will be bringing their artistry and expertise to Jacobs. Between them, they have four Grammy Awards and years of experience in opera and concert work to benefit our students and the entire Bloomington community. They are both wonderful, giving humans who will be treasures as colleagues and mentors for the Jacobs family.”