Professor Hilary Poriss
Hello! I am delighted to be joining the University Scholars this fall as a Faculty Fellow and am excited to meet and get to know all of the students in the program. I am a music historian and I came to Northeastern in 2007 by way of a circuitous journey through Chicago, New York, Cincinnati, and Rome. Since joining the music department, I have taught a variety of survey courses in music history as well as a pair of Honors seminars on the history and culture of opera. During the 2013-2014 academic year, I was fortunate to hold a fellowship from the American Council of Learned Societies and a sabbatical leave from Northeastern which allowed me to focus my entire attention on my research. In particular, I have been hard at work writing a book on the 19th-century prima donna Pauline Viardot. Viardot was much more than a singer: she was also an entrepreneur, memoirist, costume designer, composer, collaborator, and teacher. My book studies these aspects of her career, placing them alongside her important contributions as performer. When I’m not working, I’m usually spending time with my husband and five-year-old son.
Learn more about Professor Poriss's work below.