Rebecca Turner, who joined the West Virginia University music faculty this fall as associate professor of voice, will present a recital at 8:15 p.m. Monday, Oct. 17, at the Creative Arts Center.

The performance in the Bloch Learning and Performance Hall is free and open to the public.

Turner will be joined by music faculty colleagues Robert Thieme, piano, and Virginia Thompson, horn.

The program will feature works by Giovanni Battista Bononcini, Giuseppe Giordani, Alessandro Scarlatti, Francis Poulenc, Richard Strauss, Simon Sargon, Sergey Rakmaninov and Gian Carlo Menotti.

Turner, a member of the Deutsche Oper am Rhein in Dsseldorf, Germany, came to singing by way of the piano. She holds a bachelors degree in piano performance and pedagogy from Shorter College in Rome, Ga., as well as a masters degree in piano performance in accompanying from the University of North Texas in Denton.

Upon completing her studies in Denton, Turner began vocal training in order to become better equipped as a vocal coach. This led her back to Shorter College for a vocal performance degree, and after four years of study she landed her first professional contract as a member of the solo ensemble with the opera company of Bremen, Germany. She performed there for four years before moving to Dsseldorf.

With more than 500 performances to date, Turners repertoire is extensive, including the lead soprano roles in such operas asDer fliegende Hollnder,Lohengrin,Die Meistersinger von Nrnberg,Der Freischtz,Aida,Il Trov atore,La Forza Del Destino,Simon Boccanegra,Turnadot,Madama Butterfly,La Boheme,La Gioconda,I Pagliacci,Cavalleria Rusticana,Eugene OneginandPeter Grimes.

In addition to Bremen and Dsseldorf, she has performed in the opera houses of Frankfurt, Cologne, Hannover, Mannheim, Wiesbaden, Darmstadt, Dortmund, Kiel, Mnster, Graz and Basel, as well as the Shanghai Grand Theater in Shanghai, China.

Her concert repertoire includes VerdisRequiem,BeethovensNinth Symphony,MozartsRequiem,BrucknersTe Deum,and DvoraksRequiem.Recital venues have ranged from the United States to Austria, France and Germany. Turners recent professional activity has included performances ofDer Fliegende Hollnderin Dsseldorf and Kiel,Lohengrinin Bremen, VerdisRequiemin Pforzheim and DvoraksRequiemin Mnster.

For more information about the recital, contact the College of Creative Arts at (304) 293-4841 ext. 3108.