In Memoriam
Nina Hinson Rasmussen
Lecturer of Music
UC Irvine
1941-2018
Former UCI Lecturer in Voice, mezzo-soprano Nina Hinson Rasmussen passed away August 26 at age 77 on in Santa Fe, New Mexico, after suffering a stroke the day before at home. She had given a voice lesson just that morning. She is survived by her husband of fifty-one years, Dr. Prescott C. Rasmussen, and her son, violist Dmitri Bovaird; a sister, and a niece, great-niece and great-nephew.
Ms. Hinson made her professional orchestral debut in her native city with the Dallas Symphony in 1959. Studying with the legendary William Vennard, she completed a Master of Music degree at the University of Southern California and had her solo Los Angeles debut with the L.A. Philharmonic in 1965. She then went abroad to sing in opera houses in Kaiserslautern and Kassel in Germany, and with the Deutsche Oper in Berlin. In five years in Germany, France, and Switzerland, she specialized in Wagner (Kundry, Brangaene) and Verdi (Amneris, Azucena, Leonora, Eboli and others), as well as singing the role of Carmen more than a hundred times. After returning to the United States in 1974, she sang in leading opera houses here, including five seasons with the San Francisco Opera. Her numerous performances in oratorios and the symphonic repertoire were with many of the world's leading conductors, including Seiji Ozawa, Zubin Mehta, Edo de Waart, Michael Tilson Thomas, Erich Leinsdorf and Georg Solti. In 1991 she unforgettably reprised her role as Baba the Turk in Menotti’s The Medium at UC Irvine. We heard her with the UCI Symphony in De Falla’s El Amor brujo and the Brahms Alto Rhapsody.
Hinson began her outstanding teaching career in 1964 at California State University–Northridge, and subsequently taught at the University of Southern California, UCLA, UC Santa Barbara, and the Music Academy of the West, as well as for the acclaimed apprentice program of the Santa Fe Opera. She was the principal instructor of voice and opera at UC Irvine from 1985 to 2001. She also maintained private studios in Los Angeles from 1972, New York City from 1983, and Boston from 1984, often repairing mature voices. Professional singers who emerged from her university and private studios made or continued careers in a variety of repertories, evidence of the sound technical foundations that she imparted and her acute assessments of individual vocal instruments. To select just a few, Nina’s legacy includes Jane Henschel, Ruth Golden at the Manhattan School of Music; Patricia Prunty professor of voice at California State University, Fullerton; in early music, Ellen Hargis at the Longy School and Laurie Monahan at the Berklee School of Music; and Cantor Lynn Torgrove at Hebrew College in Massachusetts. Susanne Schimmack, who studied with Hinson at UCI, went on to sing at the Royal Danish Opera and the Dortmund Opera; she has recently appeared as Turandot in Bonn and Brno and teaches voice at the Maastricht Conservatory. Two of Hinson’s former students, Christina Dahlin and Frances Young, have taught in the UCI Music Department. In 2007, Hinson received a special citation from the Los Angeles Music Center for her enduring contributions to music education.
Nina Hinson was also active in the Los Angeles area as judge for the Metropolitan Opera competitions and for the annual competitions of the National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS). She taught for seven years in the vocal program of the Music Academy of the West, directing it in 1989 and 1990. She served as a member of the Board and a Trustee Emerita of the Santa Fe Desert Chorale, which has established a fund for singers in her memory. For their tribute to her, see Desert Chorale_Hinson Rasmussen.
Margaret Murata
Professor Emeritus, Music
Darryl Taylor
Professor, Music
Frances Bennett
Lecturer, Music
Ms. Hinson made her professional orchestral debut in her native city with the Dallas Symphony in 1959. Studying with the legendary William Vennard, she completed a Master of Music degree at the University of Southern California and had her solo Los Angeles debut with the L.A. Philharmonic in 1965. She then went abroad to sing in opera houses in Kaiserslautern and Kassel in Germany, and with the Deutsche Oper in Berlin. In five years in Germany, France, and Switzerland, she specialized in Wagner (Kundry, Brangaene) and Verdi (Amneris, Azucena, Leonora, Eboli and others), as well as singing the role of Carmen more than a hundred times. After returning to the United States in 1974, she sang in leading opera houses here, including five seasons with the San Francisco Opera. Her numerous performances in oratorios and the symphonic repertoire were with many of the world's leading conductors, including Seiji Ozawa, Zubin Mehta, Edo de Waart, Michael Tilson Thomas, Erich Leinsdorf and Georg Solti. In 1991 she unforgettably reprised her role as Baba the Turk in Menotti’s The Medium at UC Irvine. We heard her with the UCI Symphony in De Falla’s El Amor brujo and the Brahms Alto Rhapsody.
Hinson began her outstanding teaching career in 1964 at California State University–Northridge, and subsequently taught at the University of Southern California, UCLA, UC Santa Barbara, and the Music Academy of the West, as well as for the acclaimed apprentice program of the Santa Fe Opera. She was the principal instructor of voice and opera at UC Irvine from 1985 to 2001. She also maintained private studios in Los Angeles from 1972, New York City from 1983, and Boston from 1984, often repairing mature voices. Professional singers who emerged from her university and private studios made or continued careers in a variety of repertories, evidence of the sound technical foundations that she imparted and her acute assessments of individual vocal instruments. To select just a few, Nina’s legacy includes Jane Henschel, Ruth Golden at the Manhattan School of Music; Patricia Prunty professor of voice at California State University, Fullerton; in early music, Ellen Hargis at the Longy School and Laurie Monahan at the Berklee School of Music; and Cantor Lynn Torgrove at Hebrew College in Massachusetts. Susanne Schimmack, who studied with Hinson at UCI, went on to sing at the Royal Danish Opera and the Dortmund Opera; she has recently appeared as Turandot in Bonn and Brno and teaches voice at the Maastricht Conservatory. Two of Hinson’s former students, Christina Dahlin and Frances Young, have taught in the UCI Music Department. In 2007, Hinson received a special citation from the Los Angeles Music Center for her enduring contributions to music education.
Nina Hinson was also active in the Los Angeles area as judge for the Metropolitan Opera competitions and for the annual competitions of the National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS). She taught for seven years in the vocal program of the Music Academy of the West, directing it in 1989 and 1990. She served as a member of the Board and a Trustee Emerita of the Santa Fe Desert Chorale, which has established a fund for singers in her memory. For their tribute to her, see Desert Chorale_Hinson Rasmussen.
Margaret Murata
Professor Emeritus, Music
Darryl Taylor
Professor, Music
Frances Bennett
Lecturer, Music
