Gloria Gassi
Voice - Soprano
Ensemble Director - St. Cecilia Singers
Office: MB 545
Phone: (519) 661-2111 x84346
Email: ggassi@uwo.ca
Lyric soprano, Gloria Gassi is described as “vocally outstanding, with an empathy for the spirit of the song" (Messiah, Handel), and “dramatically captivating, with beautiful tone and a prowess for ringing high notes” (Fiordiligi, Cosi Fan Tutte, Mozart).
Performances in opera, oratorio, and concert repertoire have established her as a versatile, seasoned performer both in Canada and abroad, namely Oxford and London, England; Dublin, Ireland; Rome, Florence, L’Aquila, Italy; and Munich, Germany. Representative performances include Bach's St. John Passion, Bach’s Jauchzet Gott in allen Landen BWV51, Bach’s Non sia che sa dolore BWV 209, Brahms' Requiem, Handel's Messiah, Handel’s Saul, Haydn's Lord Nelson Mass, Haydn’s Missa Brevis, Honegger's King David, Mozart’s Cosi fan tutte (Fiordiligi), Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte (2nd Lady), Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater, Poulenc’s Diologues of the Carmelites (Madame Lidoine, La Nouvelle Prieure), Purcell’s Ode to St. Cecilia, Rutter’s Magnificat, Schubert’s Mass in G, Strauss’ Vier Letzte Lieder (Four Last Songs), and Vaughan Williams’ Mass in G and Serenade to Spring. Successively, Ms. Gassi sang as soloist and in ensemble with the acclaimed Elmer Iseler Singers, performing in Canada, U.S.A., Germany and Eastern Asia. She was honoured to sing under Dr. Elmer Iseler and guest conductors, Helmuth Rilling, Sir David Willcocks, Andrew Davis, Eric Kunzel, Seiji Ozawa.
With a passion for both performing and teaching, Ms. Gassi maintains a vibrant Voice studio at the Don Wright Faculty of Music, where the natural gift of each voice is honoured, nurtured and developed with a strong foundational technique and sensitive artistry. Her graduates have won national awards, performed with the COC and major opera companies, musical theatre companies, professional choirs, radio broadcasting and the movie industry.
Prior to her appointment at Western in 2003, Ms. Gassi was the founding Voice/Choral head of Toronto’s Cardinal Carter Academy for the Arts (TCDSB), where she creatively built the highly successful vocal program from the ground up. The CCAA Singers won several awards including three successive wins of the Elmer Iseler Award for Best Choir. They were featured with the Elmer Iseler Singers and Canadian Brass in the concert "Fanfares and Flourishes", and were Ontario’s representative choir at the Canada Day Unisong Celebration.
As Associate Teacher with OISE, UT and York University, Ms. Gassi successfully supervised music teacher candidates. She has adjudicated both Voice and Choral at local and provincial festivals in Ontario, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Alberta and has been a guest conductor for the Oxford Church Music summer program in Oxford, England; Dublin, Ireland; and Venice and Florence, Italy.
Ms. Gassi holds a Master of Music with Honours in Voice Performance and Literature (Western University), a Licentiate and Associateship in Voice Performance, Gold Medal, and an ARCT in piano. She is appointed to the Department of Performance Studies, where she teaches Voice and conducts the St. Cecilia Singers. In addition, Ms. Gassi directs a flourishing music ministry program at St. Peter’s Cathedral Basilica.
Ms. Gassi is the recipient of several awards, notably the Sir Ernest MacMillan award for conducting (Toronto Mendelssohn Foundation), and Western University Students’ Council Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching.
In the News
July 3, 2018
National Choral Award for Outstanding Choral Composition “Words, Stories, Truth” commissioned by Gloria Gassi for Canada 150. Mark Sirett, composer. Vera Wabegijig, poetry.
Award: Outstanding Choral Composition award at the Choral Canada 2018 National Choral Awards
Article: Vera Wabegijig’s poetry set to music
Recording: Words, Stories, Truth (Movement 1- Words of my Ancestors; Movement 2-The Drum Warrior; Movement 3-We are Standing)
February 2016
Successful Voice student is Semi-finalist at NATS Nationals Chicago
Recordings
Elmer Iseler Singers, First soprano
Laudate Dominum, 1987 (Elmer Iseler, conductor)
Messiah, Handel, 1987 (Sir Andrew Davis, conductor)
Cardinal Carter Academy Singers (artistic director and conductor)
My Soul doth magnify the Lord, 2000
O Holy Night, A Festival of Lessons and Carols, 2001
Eternal Light, A Celebration of Evensong, 2003
Publications
Psalms: Sundays and Solemnities, CCCB publications Concacan Inc.
National committee for Music for Catholic Worship (to be published in 2021)
Memberships, Service
ACDA, ACCC, Voice Care Network
ACTRA - Movie credits: Murdoch Mysteries, Umbrella Academy (Netflix), Grounded for Christmas (Lifetime)
Choirs Ontario – Southwestern Regional Chair 2014-18
NATS – current District Governor for Ontario region
