Jim Cornelison
Jim Cornelison, whose renditions of “The Star-Spangled Banner” have helped to rev up Chicago Blackhawks fans for two Stanley Cup championships, will sing on campus Wednesday, Aug. 28, to rev up students in the NIU College of Business.
Cornelison will appear in the atrium of Barsema Hall between 12:15 and 12:30 p.m. to perform his signature rendition of the national anthem. He will also meet with a group of business students who are helping him devise a marketing strategy to promote a charity that benefits veterans.
Denise Schoenbachler, dean of the College of Business, has declared Aug. 28 as “Blackhawks Day.” Students and staff are encouraged to wear Blackhawks gear. “We are big Blackhawks fans out here in DeKalb,” Schoenbachler said.
Cornelison is in his fourth season as the Blackhawks’ full-time national anthem singer, having made regular appearances singing the anthem at the United Center since 1996.
A native of Vienna, Va., he sang with numerous opera companies before coming to Chicago in 1995 to take part in the Lyric Opera’s Apprenticeship Program where he one of six accepted apprentices among more than 800 applicants.
He has performed nationally and internationally with some of the biggest names in opera, such as Plácido Domingo and Zubin Mehta. Known as a heroic tenor for the dark color of his voice but ability to sing in a tenor range, he has sung with opera companies in Bordeaux, London, Brussels and San Francisco, among many other places.
A 1992 graduate of Indiana University’s Masters of Music program, Cornelison has received numerous accolades for his singing, including the William Matheus Sullivan Foundation Award and the George London Foundation Encouragement Grant, as well as first place in the American Opera Society of Chicago’s 1997 Vocal Competition.
For more information about the Aug. 28 event, call (815) 753-1755.
