DETROIT, MI - Wayne State University Department of Music will be presenting the 2003 Arts Achievement Award in Music to Metropolitan Opera Bass John Macurdy. The Award Ceremony will be held at WSU Law School's Partrich Auditorium on Friday, October 3, 2003 at 4 p.m. Macurdy will also be presenting a short recital and lecture at 11:45 a.m. on October 3rd in the Schaver Music Recital Hall, 480 W. Hancock in Detroit. The recital and award ceremony are free and open to the public. For more information call (313) 577-1795 or visit Department of Music.

John Macurdy is a Detroit native and attended Wayne from 1947-1949. John Macurdy has received international acclaim as a leading Bass (basso cantante) and has been a member of the Metropolitan Opera since 1962. Since his 1962 debut John has performed over 1,000 times and has sung over 40 roles with the MET.

Following his service in the military during the Korean War, John Macurdy made his operatic debut in 1952 as the "Old Hebrew "in Samson et Dalila in New Orleans. Along with his Metropolitan Opera engagements, John has performed with most major companies including the Chicago Lyric Opera, San Francisco Opera, Teatro alla Scala in Milan, Paris Opera, and Gran Teatro del Liceo in Barcelona, to name just a few. He has received high praise and international acclaim for his appearances as a concert soloist in the U.S., South America and Europe.

During his over 35 consecutive seasons with the MET, John has been heard in many leading roles. He has participated in five opening nights at the MET, including the world premiere of Samuel Barber's Antony and Cleopatra, which opened the new Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center in 1966. Since that premiere, John has starred in over a dozen new productions performed by the theatre. His live telecast credits from the MET include Aida, Tannh (per thousand) user, and Lohengrin.

John Macurdy has performed throughout Europe, debuting in 1965 as "Prince Gremin" in Eugene Onegin in Marseille. He has sung in all the major European centers as well as numerous productions in Lyon, Strasbourg, Bonn and Stuttgart. John has appeared at festivals in Ravinia, Tanglewood, the Salzburg Festival and often appears at the Orange Festival in France.

Throughout his career John has received critical acclaim on the concert platform. He has sung with many major orchestras and collaborated with some of the greatest conductors of our era including Carlo Maria Giulini, Claudio Abbado, Riccardo Chailly, Rafael Kubelik, Erich Leinsdorf, James Levine, and Robert Shaw, as well as the late Karl B^hm and Charles Munch. John has participated in several recordings including Don Giovanni and Otello.

There is no doubt that John Macurdy is one of today's finest artists appearing on the opera and concert stage.

Wayne State University Department of Music is celebrating 85 years of artistic and academic excellence. The Department's faculty includes renowned jazz artists, composers, scholars, educators and members of the internationally acclaimed Detroit Symphony Orchestra. WSU alumni have gone on to careers in distinguished orchestras, ensembles and as soloists and music educators the world over.