World-traveled Hill opera singer opens local studio
Megan performs the role of Clomiri in Imeneo, a production by the Glimmerglass Opera Festival in Cooperstown, NY. (Photo by George Mott)
by BETH A. BROOKS
Flourtown opera singer Megan Monaghan insists that performing for audiences is unpredictable. “Once we were giving a recital for the Union League of Philadelphia,” she explained. “Suddenly a phone on stage started ringing, and it kept ringing throughout the entire length of our piece.”
On another occasion, her husband Daniel Boring was playing with the Pittsburgh Opera Company in the pit. The stage had sand all over it, and the animated performers inadvertently kicked sand in the faces of Boring and the other musicians. “We can laugh about it now,” he said, “but we were not happy about it at the time.”
Megan, a Chestnut Hill native and graduate of Gwynedd Mercy High School, received the dual degree of B.M. in vocal performance and music education at Ithaca College. Megan then traveled to the University of Cincinnati, entering their master’s and doctoral programs in vocal performance. Megan’s educational credentials include certification in K-12 music education. She is also nearing the completion of her doctorate in music at the University of Cincinnati’s College Conservatory of Music.
Megan is also a gifted vocalist, having performed in operas domestically and internationally. She has been called “a young soprano of exceptional promise.” While at Gwynedd Mercy, she performed primarily in musical theater. Her focus shifted to opera when she began college.Monaghan is also one half of the group, Due Colori (“two colors”), formed in 1998. She and Boring have fused together voice and classical guitar. That same year, Due Colori made its European debut in Italy. Boring performs on baroque, classical and romantic guitars, lute and theorbo (an extended 14-string lute), while Monaghan performs vocals. Due Colori maintains a busy schedule, giving both recitals and master classes throughout the United States and Europe.
The duo’s musical styles range from Renaissance music to the present day, including recently commissioned works. They released a CD, Irish Airs and Ballads, a collection of 19th century Irish songs for voice and guitar, and some Irish-influenced compositions for guitar solo.
Residents of this area now have the opportunity to study with Monaghan and Boring with the opening of Due Colori Studios in Flourtown, Monaghan always knew she would migrate back to the Delaware Valley. “I like the cultural area and its proximity to New York City,” she said. Boring, a native of western New York, is glad to be back on the East Coast, closer to the ocean and shore.
Both also operated a home studio while living in Cincinnati. Boring has 15 years of teaching experience, including seven at the college level, while Monaghan has eight. They are currently accepting students without an audition and will teach all levels. Monaghan likes to “figure out the students’ goals and how to adapt lessons to best suit their needs. Lessons include training in sight-singing, music theory and basic musicianship.”
Monaghan hopes one day to expand the studio into a performing arts school. She would like to include drama and dance as offerings. It is the dream of both to see the studio outgrow its present location in their home.
What student Ria Lulla likes most “is all the experience I get from voice classes, but what I love is how encouraging and positive Megan is and how she challenges me to try things I wouldn’t think I could do.”
Student Nick Greenier feels that “not only is Megan an outstanding teacher but by taking an interest in her students’ personal lives, she also became a very good friend to our family.”
Monaghan has traveled and performed with various opera companies. The Dayton Philharmonic, Columbus Symphony, Eugene Symphony, Opera Pacific Symphony and Pacific Symphony Orchestra have all had Monaghan as a featured soloist. She and Boring have traveled many times to Italy to perform, and Monaghan has sung in the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions of Southern Ohio and Southern California districts, winning first place honors in both. She hopes to do opera here locally. Monaghan feels that “performing is a strong element of being a good teacher. In order to teach students performance skills, it is necessary for their teacher to actually perform.”
Boring made his European debut in 1995 as a classical guitar soloist. He also teaches at Settlement Music School and is currently director of classical guitar at the University of Louisville School of Music in Kentucky. Beginning in January 2006, he will also join the faculty of Montgomery County Community College. Boring was the recipient of a faculty research grant in 2002-03 from the University of Louisville to study and research baroque guitar literature in Los Angeles with James Tyler, a world renowned baroque scholar.
When asked about the benefits of having a home studio, Boring replied, “You have access to your personal reference books, scores, computers and, in my case, instruments. While the main instrument I teach is classical guitar, I also specialize in historical instruments such as the lute, baroque guitar and the theorbo. It is much easier to simply go to the instrument closet and take out one of these instruments than to have to transport them to various locations.”
During July, Monaghan will perform with the Pacific Symphony. She will also be teaching at Settlement Music School this summer.
Boring will perform with the Louisville Orchestra, as soloist in the Concerto de Aranjuez by Joaquin Rodrigo on June 30. Boring says, “This piece is one of the most famous concertos in the classical repertoire, and is the most demanded piece in the guitar literature.”
For more information, call 215-836-8444 or visit www.duecolori.com
Letters | Opinion | News | LocalLife | This Week | Sports | News Makers | About Us