Home » Academics » College of Arts and Sciences » Music » Faculty & Staff » Voice and Choral Faculty » Dr. Mary Lenn Buchanan
Dr. Mary Lenn Buchanan
Dr. Mary Lenn Buchanan, a member of the Delta State University faculty since 1989, teaches studio voice, vocal solo literature, Italian diction, and directs the DSU Opera Theater. She holds the Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Southern Mississippi, Hattiesburg, MS, and Master of Music and Doctor of Musical Arts degrees from Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA.
Among Dr. Buchanan's eminent teachers are New York City Opera baritone Alfred Anderson, mezzo-soprano Patricia Etienne-Havranak, and Metropolitan Opera great Martina Arroyo. Dr. Buchanan has been awarded numerous scholarships and assistantships, and has sung roles with the Baton Rouge Opera, New Orleans Opera, New Orleans Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra, Concert Choir of New Orleans, and LSU and USM Opera Theaters. Dr. Buchanan has also lived and studied music and language in Rome, Italy.
Dr. Buchanan is an active recitalist, premiering works such as "The Solo Vocal Works Of Elsa Respighi", a 20th-century Italian composer and "In This First Light", a song cycle by DSU composer-in-residence, Dr. David Caudill. She also performs regularly with Dr. Mark Butler, DSU professor of horn, in duo recitals. She has been a presenter at the College Music Society regional conference and the MS state National Association of Teachers of Singing conference.
Dr. Buchanan's success as a teacher is highlighted by DSU alumni who have quickly established themselves in the musical world. Her students have been first place winners in the state and regional NATS auditions. She has also had winners and finalists at the district and regional levels of the Metropolitan Opera National Council auditions. Several of her students have continued advanced degrees in music, debuted with professional opera companies, or become teachers of prominence.
Dr. Buchanan has served as president of the Mississippi NATS, and is currently the Mississippi state governor for NATS and auditions chairperson for the North Mississippi Metropolitan Opera National Council. She is on the Special Events committee for the Bologna Performing Arts Center, DSU Special Programs committee, and is an academic advisor. Dr. Buchanan conducts on-going research on the vocal music of Italy and is becoming a specialist in the performance of 20th-century art song.
Mary Lenn Buchanan
Department of Music
Box 3256
Delta State University
Cleveland, MS 38733
662-846-4124
