Frederica von Stade and Marnie Breckenridge Join Faculty of San Francisco Conservatory of Music

Join Faculty of San Francisco Conservatory of Music

“I am honored to welcome Frederica von Stade and Marnie Breckenridge to our faculty,” says SFCM President David H. Stull. “Flicka and Marnie are valued colleagues and friends who have been associated with the Conservatory for many years. We are ecstatic to welcome them officially to our faculty and I know they will both serve as outstanding models, teachers, mentors, and advocates for our students.”

“It has been a great joy to be a part of the Conservatory family for many years as an admirer and cheerleader,” says Frederica von Stade. “So, I am thrilled to join the faculty and have the joy of coming to work in one of my favorite places. I am most thrilled at the prospect of helping any young artist enjoy a career as much as I have enjoyed my own. I am grateful and excited.”

“Moving back to the Bay Area recently from New York, I reached out to SFCM about getting more involved in giving back to my alma mater when home from operatic singing engagements,” says Marnie Breckenridge. “I’m deeply honored to be able to help guide singers who are just beginning this amazing journey of voice, spirit, and discovery. I endeavor to shepherd them to efficiently gain a solid understanding of their technique and what they have to say as artists in this ever-changing, fast-paced world of opera and classical singing. It’s astonishing how polyphonic SFCM has grown in its scope and vision and I’m so thrilled to be part of the mix.”

Recognized as one of the most beloved musical figures of our time, Frederica von Stade is well known to audiences around the world through her numerous featured appearances on television, including several PBS specials and Live from Lincoln Center telecasts. She has made over sixty recordings with every major label, including complete operas, aria albums, symphonic works, solo recital programs, and popular crossover albums. Her recordings have garnered six Grammy nominations, two Grand Prix du Disc awards, the Deutscher Schallplattenpreis, Italy’s Premio della Critica Discografica, and Best of the Year citations by Stereo Review and Opera News. Von Stade was awarded France’s highest honor in the arts when she was appointed as an officer of L’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, and in 1983, she was honored with an award given at the White House by President Reagan in recognition of her significant contribution to the arts. She received an honorary doctorate from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music in 1993.

American soprano Marnie Breckenridge is recognized internationally for her passionate interpretations of roles in standard repertoire and contemporary works. She has been praised by the New York Times for her “lovely soprano,” and the Chicago Tribune has noted her “achieving both lyrical poignancy and dramatic power.” Breckenridge has performed with leading opera companies and at major festivals including English National Opera, LA Opera, Prototype Festival, Fort Worth Opera, Glyndebourne Festival, Bard Music Festival, Ravinia Festival, and San Francisco Opera, among others. She has also performed with orchestras across the United States including the San Francisco Symphony and Pacific Symphony, and at Carnegie Hall. Breckenridge is a featured soloist on the 2012 New World Records album of Victor Herbert songs and recently made her European and Asian debuts as Cunegonde in Candide. She received SFCM’s “Alumni of the Year” award in 1993.

About the San Francisco Conservatory of Music

Founded in 1917, the San Francisco Conservatory of Music (SFCM) is a global destination for musical excellence, earning an international reputation for producing musicians of the highest caliber. Located in the heart of San Francisco’s Civic Center, SFCM’s faculty includes nearly 30 members of the San Francisco Symphony as well as Grammy Award-winning artists in fields ranging from orchestral and chamber performance to classical guitar. The Conservatory offers its 400-plus collegiate students fully accredited bachelor’s and master’s degrees and professional diplomas in composition and instrumental and vocal performance, as well as in newly established, groundbreaking tracks such as Technology and Applied Composition and Roots, Jazz, and American Music. SFCM’s collaborations with major Bay Area arts presenters, including the San Francisco Symphony, Opera, Ballet, and SFJAZZ Center, present an unprecedented learning environment for Conservatory students to engage with the world’s leading artists. The Conservatory’s relationships with Sony Playstation, Skywalker Sound, and other Silicon Valley companies also offer unique opportunities that reinforce the institution’s innovative curricular approach in artistic, intellectual, professional, and individual development, a connected learning sequence that gives students an education for life. SFCM’s collegiate and Pre-College students have appeared at such storied venues as Carnegie Hall and Davies Symphony Hall and have performed on national radio programs including NPR’s Live from Here and Performance Today. Notable alumni include violinists Yehudi Menuhin and Isaac Stern, conductor and pianist Jeffrey Kahane, soprano Elza van den Heever, the Naumburg Award-winning Telegraph Quartet (on faculty as SFCM’s Quartet-in-Residence), Blue Bottle Coffee founder James Freeman, and Ronald Losby (President of Steinway & Sons – Americas), among others. For more information, visit sfcm.edu.