March 8, 2021 MACOMB, IL - In honor of Black History Month in February, Penelope Shumate, director of the Western Illinois University (WIU) School of Music Opera Theatre, hosted international opera singer tenor Chauncey Packer, via Zoom. The WIU opera workshop students that attended Packer s discussion gained insight into his professional career.
In addition, Millikin University s opera workshop class joined to visit with the exciting American tenor, originally from Alabama.
Packer made his debut with the Metropolitan Opera in New York in the roles of Robbins and Crabman and the cover of Sportin Life, in the 2020 opera
Porgy and Bess. The opera was composed by Gershwin and first performed in 1935. It features an African-American cast and has remained one of the most frequently performed and well-known American operas worldwide.