Ewing Tenor Steven Brennfleck Performs at Fall Island Vocal Arts Seminar

POTSDAM, NY (05/08/2012)(readMedia)-- Steven Brennfleck, a tenor from Ewing, N.J., is among only 10 rising musicians nationwide chosen to take part in an ambitious new music festival in Potsdam, N.Y.

The Fall Island Vocal Arts Seminar will feature local artist Brennfleck during its premiere season from May 21 to May 26 at The Crane School of Music at The State University of New York at Potsdam.

Stephanie Blythe '92, the mezzo-soprano with the "once-in-a-generation" voice, decided to bring her artistic vision back to her alma mater, SUNY Potsdam, for this program.

The inaugural season of the Fall Island Vocal Arts Seminar is aimed at reinvigorating individual artistry through the American art song by energizing up-and-coming young singers from across the United States and Canada. North Country audiences will be able to take in world-class recital performances throughout the week.

Participants this season were selected from a competitive national audition.

This distinguished group of artists includes:

• Steven Brennfleck, a tenor from Ewing, N.J.
• Carola Emrich-Fisher, a mezzo-soprano from Boston
• Zachary Finkelstein, a tenor from Toronto
• Matthew Gemmill, a pianist from Wheaton, Ill.
• Bridget Hough-Meynenc, a pianist from Santa Barbara, Calif.
• Grant Knox, a tenor from Newport, Ky.
• Ryan McCullough, a pianist from Toronto
• Lauren Michelle, a soprano from Los Angeles
• Adrienne Pardee, a soprano from New York City
• Jason Weisinger, a tenor from Baldwin, N.Y.

The Fall Island Vocal Arts Seminar embarks on its inaugural season realizing a dream that SUNY Potsdam alumna Stephanie Blythe shared with her former undergraduate opera director, Dr. Carleen Graham.

The seminar was founded as a venue for emerging singers and collaborative pianists between the ages of 23 and 35, to promote individual artistry through the art song genre. The Metropolitan Opera star is joined by Dr. Graham and their former vocal coach, Alan Smith, a prominent collaborative pianist, vocal coach and composer.

"Coming back to Potsdam is like completing a circle for me. SUNY Potsdam and The Crane School of Music put me on a road to self-discovery as an artist and a person. This place gave me the courage to search out my dreams and succeed, and now it will be a place where I can share what I can with the next generation of musical interpreters," Blythe said. "Being an artist is about finding a voice, about discovering how to get your point of view across to an audience by taking risks in interpretation, saying something real with music and poetry, giving voice in a personal way to great composers and poets. I took my first steps in musical interpretation here at The Crane School of Music, and I am thrilled to be developing this exciting seminar in this wonderful place."

They have developed an intensive week of music making for the 10 invited participants that will incorporate related aesthetics and what it means to be a performing artist in today's society. All music will be performed in English and will feature a number of living composers, many of whom Blythe has professionally collaborated with. The participants will be treated to a full week of masterclasses, coachings, discussions and recitals led by Blythe, Smith and Crane School of Music Professor Dr. Gary Busch.

"Poetry and art song often find a way to connect with us through images in nature, creating sensory memories that evoke very personal responses from their audiences. When Carleen and I were discussing what we wanted to call this vocal seminar, we searched to find that same kind of connection with a name. Fall Island seemed a natural fit. Providing Potsdam with one of its most picturesque views, the island surrounded by the beautiful waters of the Raquette River has a special significance. To anyone who has weathered a Potsdam winter, watching the trees and water spring to life as the cold fades away brings a sense of renewal and beauty that makes everyone a poet. Fall Island is a perfect symbol for an artistic endeavor," Blythe said.

About the local artist:

Tenor Steven Bennfleck has been consistently acknowledged for his consummate artistry, vocal flexibility and moving interpretations both on the operatic and concert stage. Praised by the New York Times as "dramatically astute" and a "stand out" performer, he has received recognition from some of the country's top vocal competitions: Classical Singer Magazine's AudComps (second place in the young artist division in 2008), the Marion Anderson Prize for Emerging Classical Artists (2007 finalist) and the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions (district winner in 2006, 2009 and 2010). An alumnus of the Portland Opera Studio Artist Program, his performances with that company during the 2009-10 season included Cégeste in Phillip Glass' "Orphée," Testo in Monteverdi's "Il Combattimento di Tancredi e Clorinda," Parpignol in "La Boheme" and the Officer in "The Barber of Seville." During the 2010-11 season, he returned to Portland Opera to sing the roles of Beppe in "I Pagliacci," tenor soloist in "Carmina Burana," Gonsalve in "L'Heure Espagnol" and Pang in "Turandot." In the summers of 2009 and 2010 he was a member of the Young American Artist Program at Glimmerglass Opera, where he performed the roles of Don Curzio in "Le Nozze di Figaro" and Giuseppe in "La Traviata." In the summer of 2011, Brennfleck completed a fellowship at the renowned Tanglewood Music Center, where he performed roles in Darius Millhaud's Trois Operas Minuttes under the direction of Mark Morris, and sang the world premiere of Charles Wuorinen's "It Happens Like This." His additional operatic credits include Laurie in "Little Women," El Remendado in "Carmen" and Flute/Thisby in "A Midsummernight's Dream," all with the Westminster Opera Theatre. In January 2008 he portrayed the role of Dr. Binch in the regional premiere of Robert Aldridge's "Elmer Gantry" at Montclair State University produced by Nashville Opera. Brennfleck has also appeared in the Spoleto Festival USA productions of Delibe's "Lakmé" and Resphighi's "La Bella Dormente." The 2011-12 season features Brennflecks's debut with the Alabama Symphony Orchestra in Handel's Messiah, and performances with Princeton Pro Musica, the Philadelphia Youth Orchestra and New York City's Ensemble Signal. In the summer of 2012, he will also take part in the Caramoor Festival's Bel Canto Young Artist Program. In previous seasons, he has collaborated with the Handel Choir of Baltimore, the Philadelphia Youth Orchestra, the Princeton Youth Orchestra, the Princeton Baroque Orchestra, the Abington Symphony Orchestra, the Westminster Festival Orchestra, and Princeton Pro Musica in works by Bach, Britten, Handel, Haydn, Mozart and Saint-Saens. He has also been featured in the pre-concert recital series sponsored by the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra at Trenton's Patriot Theatre and the New Jersey Performing Arts Center. Brennfleck holds degrees from Westminster Choir College.

For more information about the Fall Island Vocal Arts Seminar at SUNY Potsdam's Crane School of Music, visit www.potsdam.edu/fallisland.

Founded in 1886, SUNY Potsdam's Crane School of Music has a long legacy of excellence in music education and performance. Life at Crane includes an incredible array of more than 300 recitals, lectures and concerts presented by faculty, students and guests each year. The Crane School of Music is the State University of New York's only All-Steinway institution, and is celebrating its 125th anniversary in 2011-12.

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Posted Tuesday May 08, 2012 at 11:17 am by SUNY Potsdam
Last Updated Friday May 11, 2012 at 01:07 pm