Gwen Hasheian Norton is delighted to join the teaching staff at the Resonance School of Music in 2024 as a voice and piano instructor. Gwen hails from Salem County,  NJ and began her music training in the Pennsville Public School District.  Vocal studies progressed at Rowan University with Dr. Eugene Thamon Simpson,  the Academy of Vocal Arts in Philadelphia  with Bill Shuman and post-graduate studies under the tutelage of Laura Brooks Rice at Westminster Choir College.  Gwen holds a doctoral degree (EdD)_from West Virginia University in Vocal Performance and Pedagogy.

Dr. Norton’s formal educational journey was greatly enriched by a performance internship at the Curtis Institute of Music and an opera apprenticeship at the Juilliard Opera Center.  She is committed to being a life-long learner for as long as possible!

She has performed and covered various leading and supporting roles during her career as a dramatic mezzo-soprano with the Merola Tour of the San Francisco Opera,  Chicago Lyric Opera,  New York City Opera,  Dallas Opera,  Opera Company of Philadelphia,  Santa Fe Opera and La Piccola Scala Opera of Rome, Italy, among others.   Over the last three decades,  Gwen has received awards and prizes from the Mario Lanza Foundation,  Marian Anderson Foundation,  Luciano Pavarotti Foundation,  Giargiari Bel Canto Guild,  and the Northeast Regional Council of the Metropolitan Opera.

Her teaching experience in the areas of vocal and instrumental music has included students of all ages and stages throughout the tri-state area.   It has been an absolute privilege to work with ensembles of all types and sizes, as well as solo performers and she plans to continue her teaching in these domains.