Contact Information
Nick.Perna@mail.wvu.edu
Phone: (304) 293.4841×3158
202-A Creative Arts Center
Nicholas Perna
Assistant Professor—Voice
In Nicholas Perna’s debut as the Prince in Prokofiev’s The Love for Three Oranges Charles Ward of the Houston Chronicle said, “an impressive sound?(he) made the show work vocally.” Lawrence Johnson of the South-Florida Sun-Sentinel declared, “an emotionally riven performance,” for Dr. Perna’s work in the University of Miami’s gala production of The Pipe of Desire. Also on the operatic stage, Dr. Perna recently debuted the role of the Accuser in the critically-acclaimed world premiere of Bright Sheng’s Madame Mao. Other credits include The Duke in Rigoletto, Lt. B. F. Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly, Nemorino in L’Elisir d’amore, Alfred in Die Fledermaus, Count Belfiore in La finta Giardiniera, Flute in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Camille in The Merry Widow, Cecil Vyse in A Room with a View, and Prince Tamino in The Magic Flute.
On the concert stage, Dr. Perna made his debut in Mahler’s Das Lied von der Erde under the baton of Maestro Thomas Sleeper and the University of Miami Chamber Orchestra. His other concert appearances include solo work in Handel’s Messiah, Schubert’s Mass in G and Mass in C, Rene Clausen’s A New Creation, as well as Bach’s Cantata 140. Awards to Dr. Perna’s credit include the 2003 Young Patronesses of the Opera/Florida Grand Opera Voice Competition Student Division Grand Prize and the 2003 Florida District Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions Encouragement Award. Dr. Perna can be heard on the Albany label, as Paolo in Luigi Mancinelli’s Paolo e Francesca.
Dr. Perna holds a Bachelor of Music degree in Voice from the University of Miami’s Frost School of Music and a Master of Music degree in Voice from the University of Houston’s Moores School of Music, and the Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Vocal Pedagogy and Performance from the University of Miami’s Frost School of Music. Dr. Perna apprenticed with the Santa Fe Opera in the summers of 2003 and 2004, giving him opportunities to coach and study with opera professionals such as Nico Castel, Diane Richardson, Mikhail Hallak, and Nina Hinson.
In the fall of 2008 Dr. Perna proudly joined the faculty of West Virginia University. Dr. Perna previously served on the faculty of New World School of the Arts and Miami Dade College. Since the summer of 2005 he has served as voice faculty and production director of the Cultural American Music Program in Marathon, FL, where since 2006 he has served as Artistic-Director. In the summer of 2007 Dr. Perna was awarded a Presser Music Foundation Award and was able to study voice science with Dr. Donald G. Miller using Voce Vista software. His doctoral research in nasalance’s effect on the acoustics of the tenor passaggio and head voice has led to new techniques in teaching young tenors to negotiate the passaggio.