About Dr. Ricks:

Diane Ricks is a native of Savannah Georgia . She received her Master's degree in Vocal Performance at Georgia Southern University and her Doctorate in Vocal Performance at Shenandoah Conservatory. While attending Shenandoah she was the recipient of a doctoral fellowship and later a doctoral teaching fellow. Her dissertation "Giving Voice to the Voiceless: Composing I Never Saw Another Butterfly - Songs on Text by Children of the Holocaust," is housed in both the Jewish Museum of Prague Library and the National Holocaust Museum Library. Before joining the faculty if Georgia Southern in 2005, she taught voice at Shenandoah Conservatory in Winchester , VA and Trinity University in Washington DC . and has been teaching voice for the Shenandoah Conservatory Performing Arts Camp since July 2004.

She is an active performer of art song and has performed partial operatic roles as Mrs. Murrant, from Kurt Weill's Street Scenes , Dorabella from Mozart's Cosi fan tutte , Mere Marie in Poulenc's Dialogue of the Carmelites and full roles as Zita in Pucinni's Gianni Schicchi, Ms. Nolan in Menotti's The Medium and as Dido in Purcell's beloved opera, Dido and Aeneas . In addition, Diane is a member of the Savannah based Lyric Arts Ensemble. Diane maintains a private voice studio in Savannah ; is an active member of NATS; and has performed for numerous master teachers in master class settings. Her past voice teachers include Drs. Lucinda Schultz, Sandra McClain, Kyle Hancock, and Janette Ogg.