July 30, 2008

Two OWU Graduates Cross Paths on the National Opera Stage
Benjamin Bunsold ’95 and Abigail Nims ’01 recently performed leading roles in Opera Delaware’s Little Women…

Benjamin Bunsold ’95 (top) played the role of Theodore “Laurie” Lawrence in Opera Delaware’s Little Women, while Abby Nims ’01 (bottom) portrayed Meg.

Photo courtesy of Benjamin Bunsold

Although ending up in the same opera production was somewhat of a coincidence, the two do share a connection. Bunsold’s longtime voice coach Robert Nims ’63—professor emeritus of music at Ohio Wesleyan—is Abby’s father.

“It’s not very often that you have the opportunity to perform a leading opera role with a fellow OWU alum,” says Bunsold, who sang the role of Theodore “Laurie” Lawrence in the Opera Delaware production alongside Nims’ character, Meg.

A native of Marysville, Ohio, Bunsold graduated from Ohio Wesleyan with a bachelor of music degree. He was drawn to the University’s small class sizes and personal attention, and the encouragement from his voice coach—the elder Nims—didn’t hurt.

After earning his master of music degree from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and starting to pursue a doctorate in music arts (DMA), Bunsold’s performance career ramped up and he’s been traveling and singing opera ever since. He keeps his family and friends up to date on his whereabouts at www.benjaminbunsold.com.

“I joke around when I get asked where I live now because the life of a working opera singer is a bit like a gypsy, traveling from place to place. And so I usually say that the open road is my home,” says Bunsold, whose opera gigs usually last a month at a time, sending him from hotel to hotel and to the occasional “host” family in the cities where he’s performing.

Bunsold wrapped up playing the role of Camille in Opera New Jersey’s production of  The Merry Widow last week, and he’s gearing up to sing in La Traviata with Opera Memphis in the fall. In January he’ll return to Opera Delaware to sing the role of Alfred in Die Fledermaus (Feb. 8-10, 2009), and in March he will travel to Louisiana to sing the role of Ferrando in Cosi fan tutte for Shreveport Opera.

Nims’ journey toward Ohio Wesleyan and her career in opera started off a little differently. Because both her father and her mother—Marilyn Nims ’98, a current professor of music at OWU—were affiliated with the University, the decision to stay close to home was easy.

“I knew I wanted to major in voice performance, but after visiting a number of GLCA schools, I hadn’t found a voice teacher with whom I was convinced I would want to study,” says the Delaware, Ohio, native who graduated with a bachelor of music degree in voice performance and a minor in German studies. “Although I had a different voice teacher throughout high school, I had worked a bit with each of my parents, and I had discovered that I worked well with them. I had also spent so much time at OWU throughout my life that I trusted I would get an excellent education there in all areas of study, so, in the end, it just seemed like the best fit for me.”

As someone who admits she “practically grew up” at Ohio Wesleyan, Nims’ fondest memories of the University include having the chance to collaborate with her parents as a student and a daughter.

Says Nims, “Of course, I'd have to say that my favorite professors were my parents!”

Nims received her master of music degree from Westminster Choir College in 2005 and an artist diploma from Yale School of Music in 2007. Over the the past year she joined the roster of the New York City Opera, covering the role of Nerone in Agrippina,  performed the role of Zefka in Gotham Chamber Opera’s performances of The Diary of One Who Vanished, and was the alto soloist in Mahler’s Second Symphony with Teatro Municipal in Santiago, Chile.

Until the end of August, Nims is keeping busy out West singing with Santa Fe Opera as an apprentice artist. She’ll be close to home in December, as she’s set to perform Handel’s Messiah with the ProMusica Chamber Orchestra in Columbus, Ohio. Next May she will travel back to Wilmington, Delaware, to sing the role of Cherubino in Opera Delaware’s production of Le Nozze di Figaro.

When Nims is not performing, she lives just outside of Manhattan in Weehawken, New Jersey. Read more about her recent performances on her manager’s Web site at www.herbertbarrett.com.

– Ann Marcum