Ithaca College

With support from the provost’s office and a release time grant from the Center for Faculty Research and Development, Professor David Parks announces the first complete CD of the songs of American composer Richard Hundley. A collaboration between pianist Read Gainsford and Parks, the CD would be a popular addition to the collection of any musician interested in singing and/or teaching the songs of Mr. Hundley. This 26-song CD includes 10 premiere recordings and 6 songs from Hundley’s latest publication, “10 Songs” by Boosey & Hawkes. For more information or to purchase, please visit http://www.richardhundley.com

David Parks first met Richard Hundley over the phone in 1989 and for over twenty years has sung his songs in various concerts in the United States, Ireland, South Africa, Eastern Europe, and Canada. The idea for this CD began when David Parks was sponsored by the U.S. Department of State to present an American art song recital (including those of Hundley’s) in several venues in Bosnia-Herzegovina. In 2005 Parks brought Mr. Hundley to the Ithaca College campus to present two days of master classes on his songs. It was after these sessions that Hundley encouraged Parks to record a group of his songs. After several discussions with other voice teachers and singers, it became apparent to Parks that a complete CD of Mr. Hundley’s songs would be the only possible outcome to this project.

Hundley's songs are studied and performed by most college and conservatory voice majors in the United States. Some of the songs are vocally easy for young singers, but most of the songs require a developed voice with strong technical prowess. These songs are known for their soaring melodic contours, sensitive setting of the text, and piano accompaniments that are colorful and create a nearly equal partnership with the singer.

Tenor David Parks has made singing part of a dual-career path of college level teaching and performing. On the operatic stage Parks has sung roles with Syracuse Opera, Michigan Opera Theatre, Chautauqua Opera, Virginia Opera, Piedmont Opera, Arizona Opera, Ithaca Opera, Oswego Opera Theater, and Opera Delaware. Parks’ appearances in more that 50 productions reflect a familiarity with a wide range of repertoire from Baroque opera to twentieth-century literature. During the three-month residency in South Africa, he performed leading tenor roles in Puccini’s La Bohème and Mozart’s Cosi fan Tutte. In addition to fifteen operatic performances in Cape Town and Bloemfontein, Parks was heard at the South African National Arts Festival in both opera and oratorio, appearing as the tenor soloist in Mozart’s Requiem Mass, the first American tenor to do so in several years.

Parks has been a guest artist at the Anchorage Music Festival, and for several years at the Fairbanks Summer Arts Festival.