Soprano Twyla Robinson remembers the weather on the day she knew she wanted to be a singer growing up in the rural town of Denham Springs, Louisiana.
"I grew up in a farm on a swamp," she says. "In that part of the world we didn't even have choir in high school. There was just no money."
Despite a foray into playing horn, because there was a marching band for the football team, she knew ultimately she wanted to sing.
Now a vocal professor at Texas Christian University, Robinson performs widely, with appearances this year that include soloist in Gorecki's "Symphony No. 3" with the Chicago Sinfonietta and the leading role in Strauss's "Ariadne auf Naxos" with the Cincinatti Opera.
Robinson presents an intimate recital of short works for voice and piano along with Jerome Tan. The diverse compositions feature an emphasis on women composers. The free concert begins at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Jan. 25, at the Stella Boyle Smith Concert Hall in the Fine Arts Building on the University of Arkansas campus in Fayetteville.
