“Reimagining the Vocalises

of Mathilde Marchesi
for Tenor and Bass Trombone”

International Trombone Festival

Columbus, Georgia
July 17, 2021

Alexandra Zacharella, D.M.A.

University of Arkansas – Fort Smith
Director of Bands
Associate Professor of Low Brass

Elizabeth Blanton Momand, D.M.A.

University of Arkansas – Fort Smith
Director of Opera & Musical Theatre
Professor of Voice
 ABSTRACT
“Reimagining the Vocalises of Mathilde Marchesi for Tenor and Bass Trombone”

Mathilde Castrone Marchesi (1821-1913), born Mathilde Graumann, was an operatic soprano and well-
known teacher of bel canto technique. Marchesi has been credited for bringing the bel canto style of
singing into the 20th Century. She was born in Germany and went on to study in Vienna and Paris with
famed vocal pedagogue Manuel García II. During Marchesi’s lifetime, she was a prominent vocal
pedagogue, composed multiple series of vocalises and vocal method books and taught at
conservatories in London, Vienna, Cologne, and Paris. This lecture recital will discuss selected vocalises
from Marchesi’s Twenty-Four Vocalises Op. 2 for Soprano or Mezzo-Soprano and Thirty Vocalises Op.
32 for Mezzo-Soprano, that have been transcribed for tenor and bass trombone. This lecture will
examine and explore the use of bel canto style vocalises to develop and enhance lyrical playing on the
tenor and bass trombone. Marchesi’s vocalises breathe new life into the canon of trombone lyrical
repertoire, adding a fresh perspective on materials that aid in learning how to develop musical line and
phrases on the tenor and bass trombone.

VOCALISES TRANSCRIBED & ARRANGED FOR

TENOR AND BASS TROMBONE
Thirty Vocalises for Mezzo Soprano Op. 32
No. 3 Portamento
No. 5 Portamento
No. 6 Sustained Legato
No. 7 Sustained Legato
No. 15 Diatonic Scale (staccato)
No. 26 Syncopation
No. 28 Wide Intervals
Twenty Four Vocalises for Soprano or Mezzo Soprano
No. 4 Smooth, even singing (Canto Spianato)
 BIOGRAPHIES
A native of New Jersey, Alexandra Zacharella is Director of
Bands and Associate Professor of Low Brass at the University of
Arkansas-Fort Smith. Zacharella holds a Doctorate of Musical
Arts in trombone performance from the University of Southern
California, Thornton School of Music, with minors in conducting,
music education and jazz studies. While at USC, she served as a
Graduate Student Assistant in Music Education and for the
Winds and Brass area. She was awarded the Chamber Music of
the year award and the Order of Arté. She holds a Master of
Music degree in Trombone Performance from The University of
Michigan, where she served as a Graduate Student Instructor
and was a William D. Revelli Alumni scholarship recipient.
Zacharella also holds a Bachelor of Music in Trombone
Performance and Music Education from The University of
Hartford, The Hartt School, where she was named the Music Education student of the year in
1999. Zacharella is an active low brass and wind ensemble clinician and has presented clinics and
masterclasses in South Korea, Hong Kong, California, Michigan, Georgia, Arkansas and Oklahoma to
name a few. She presented at the 65th and 70th Annual Midwest Clinic in Chicago, Illinois and gave
the plenary paper for the keynote performance for trombonist and Conn-Selmer Artist Christian
Lindberg, at the International Conference of the College Music Society in Stockholm, Sweden in
2015. Zacharella has performed at the International Trombone Festivals in California, Spain, France,
Georgia, Texas, and Las Vegas. She has given numerous presentations, performances/recitals on
trombone and euphonium and poster sessions at the International Conference of College Music
Society in Belgium, Australia, Sweden, Argentina and South Korea and at National and Regional CMS
Conferences throughout the United States. She has performed and presented at the Music by Women
Festival, the International Women’s Brass Conference, College Band Directors National Association
Southwestern Regional Conference, National Association of College Wind and Percussion Instructors
and the ArkMEA Conference. In 2018, Dr. Zacharella won the university wide award for Excellence in
Research and Scholarly and Creative Activity in Teaching at the University of Arkansas-Fort Smith.
Zacharella works with undergraduate students in research and capstone projects for UAFS and
CMS. Zacharella is a Bach Artist and a Signature Artist for Warburton. Having served as past-president
of Arkansas Chapter of CBDNA, Zacharella currently serves as the President-Elect of The College Music
Society-South Central Chapter and is on the International Initiatives Committee for the College Music
Society. In the summer, Zacharella is the Director and Conductor of the Summer Band and Jazz Band
Camp program at UAFS. Zacharella maintains a private low brass studio and her students have found
great success in Region, All State and All-American Bands, Jazz Bands and Orchestras.
 A native Mississippian, Elizabeth Blanton Momand, Professor of
Voice at the University of Arkansas - Fort Smith, received her
Bachelor of Music and Master of Music degrees in Vocal
Performance from Mississippi College in Clinton, where she was an
active performer of chamber and solo recital music. She completed
her Doctorate of Musical Arts degree in Vocal Performance at The
University of Texas at Austin. As a soprano soloist, Momand has
performed over a dozen oratorio works with orchestra including
Orff’s Carmina Burana, Mozart’s Requiem and Mass in C Minor;
Handel’s Messiah, Saint Saens’ Christmas Oratorio, Haydn’s Die
Schöpfung, and Bach’s Magnificat. She continues to perform
frequently as a recitalist and chamber musician. In addition to directing the Opera & Musical Theatre
Workshop, she teaches voice, diction, vocal literature, and aural skills at UAFS. Her students have been
state, regional, national, and international winners of competitions and scholarships, and are routinely
accepted into prestigious graduate programs and summer festivals across the United States and
abroad. Included among the honors Momand has received for her academic work are a scholarship to
Johannes Gutenberg Universität in Mainz, Germany, for a year of study; a fellowship for travel and
study in former East Germany from the International Visitors Center of Mississippi; and a Fulbright-
Hays Fellowship for travel and study in India. At UAFS, she was awarded the 2020 Lucille Speakman
Master Teacher award for outstanding teaching, professional growth and service, and recently
received the 2021 Lucille Speakman Legacy Endowment Award for travel and research in England.
Momand actively researches the music of unknown and forgotten women composers with the hope of
bringing their music out of obscurity and onto the concert stage. She currently serves as Governor of
the Arkansas Chapter of the National Association of Teachers of Singing, and has served in other officer
positions within the organization. She also serves as the current president of the South Central Chapter
of the College Music Society and has presented her research at regional, national, and international
conferences within the organization. Additionally, she has presented research at the International
Women’s Brass Conference, the National Association of College Wind and Percussion Instructors, the
Arkansas Music Educator’s Association, the Music by Women Festival, and the National Association of
Teachers of Singing National Conference. Momand was Department Head of Music & Theatre at UAFS
from 2006-2013. Additionally, she is a trained accreditation visitor for the National Association of
Schools of Music.