bandman

I was a student at the University of Southwestern Louisiana in the 1970’s (now called the University of Louisiana at Lafayette). At that time the Opera Workshop was wonderful, filled with very talented vocalists that included Brian Schexnayder (baritone with the Metropolitan Opera) and Shawn Roy (bass-baritone who sang with New York City). We had marvelous productions for years that were on par with the major music schools in the country.

Then for many years the musical theater department and opera workshop fell to levels that made the alumni cringe. There was still talent, but for some reason it didn’t flourish like it did in the 70’s. We wondered if it would ever rise to the levels of excellence that they once enjoyed.

The past few years the productions have been getting better and better and tonight they performed a student production of Mozart’s Magic Flute. I don’t know why I felt like I had to write this, but I’m very proud of my old music school. Everything about this production was magnificent! Kudos to Shawn Roy who has returned home and now produces the shows at UL–Lafayette. I wish you were all in town to enjoy the next three days of this great show!