In August, the Louisiana Tech University School of Music hired Matthew Giallongo ’12 as a full-time lecturer in voice for the fall quarter. Giallongo earned his bachelor’s degree in music performance on the voice track from the Sunderman Conservatory of Music.
Giallongo, an accomplished performer and educator, previously taught at Colorado State University-Pueblo and the Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp. He also served as the head of the voice department at Camp Encore-Coda in Sweden, Maine. He received a master’s degree in vocal performance from Temple University, and another master’s in vocal pedagogy from Colorado State University. Giallongo earned his doctorate at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, where he studied under professional opera singer and pedagogue William McGraw.
Regarded by composer Kile Smith as a singer with “a beautiful voice” who performs “with a great depth of feeling,” Giallongo draws on his Sunderman education, under the tutelage of Music Prof. Jeffrey Fahnestock, for his continued success in the field.
“[My professors] showed me that art is always a work in progress,” said Giallongo, who looked up to Fahnestock, Prof. Jocelyn Swigger, and Prof. Scott Crowne as exemplars of professionalism and strong work ethic. “It seemed impossible to my young self that people so at the top of their game and technique spent so much time practicing.”
Giallongo’s research focuses on the melodies and pedagogy of France during the Second Empire in Paris. He is particularly interested in the developmental path of the French school of singing and recently completed the first translation of Jules Lefort’s “Méthode de chant” from French into English, which he is working to publish.
Louisiana Tech’s School of Music, built on the tenets of tradition and ambition, officially opened in 2019. The school offers a traditional conservatory education, while providing innovative paths, including training for primary and secondary education and classical music performance, in addition to composing, singing and songwriting, and music production.
By Phoebe Doscher ’22
Photos courtesy of Miranda Harple and Matthew Giallongo ’12
Posted: 10/06/21
