POTSDAM, NY (05/11/2015)(readMedia)-- SUNY Potsdam alumna Stephanie Blythe '92 and the Fall Island Vocal Arts Seminar will welcome the preeminent composer Ricky Ian Gordon for a special performance and discussion featuring his works next week.

The composer of operas such as "27," "Rappahannock County" and "The Grapes of Wrath," Ricky Ian Gordon has been praised by Opera News as being at a "career peak." He is a leading writer of vocal music that spans art song, opera and musical theatre, and his songs have been performed and recorded by internationally renowned singers.

Blythe will engage Gordon in an intimate conversation about his life and works, in an evening that will feature music selected by the composer, which will be performed by the 2015 Seminar Fellowship participants, Blythe and music director Alan Smith.

The special event will be offered on Thursday, May 21, at 7:30 p.m., in the Sara M. Snell Music Theater at SUNY Potsdam's Crane School of Music.

Tickets for "An Evening with Ricky Ian Gordon" are $25 for the general public and $20 for SUNY Potsdam faculty, staff and students. All proceeds will benefit the Fall Island Vocal Arts Seminar. To purchase tickets, contact the Community Performance Series Box Office at (315) 267-2277 or visit www.cpspotsdam.org.

Blythe will return to her alma mater to serve as the Bachelor's Commencement Ceremony speaker this weekend, and will stay for the fourth season of the Fall Island Vocal Arts Seminar, from May 18 to May 24. In addition to the benefit concert, the seminar provides several open masterclasses and performances that are free for the public to attend.

"The work that I have personally done with Ricky Ian Gordon has been some of the most rewarding of my life. His music is not only thoughtful, beautiful and innovative, it is a generous gift from his heart. Just being in a room with Ricky is a blessing -- an outpouring of information tempered with excitement and joy. I am thrilled to have Ricky as our guest artist. His work in song and opera is among the most important of this age, and it is an honor to present his work at Fall Island in such a personal way," Blythe said.

The Metropolitan Opera star is the co-founder of the Fall Island Vocal Arts Seminar, along with Executive Director Dr. Carleen Graham, a professor of opera at The Crane School of Music. The program, which is in residence at the College, provides an unique opportunity for emerging singers and pianists to cultivate their artistry through contemporary American art song.

Six singers and three pianists between the ages 23 and 35 were selected from a competitive national audition to work with Blythe and Music Director Dr. Alan Louis Smith, a noted pianist, vocal coach and composer, who is a member of the faculty at the University of Southern California's Thornton School of Music and at the Tanglewood Music Center. Rounding out the team is Associate Director Audrey Saccone '12, a SUNY Potsdam graduate who is currently digital media manager at OPERA America in New York City.

The 2015 Fall Island participants include:

• Aram Arakelyan, a pianist from Yerevan, Armenia
• Stephen Carroll, a tenor from Scotch Plains, N.J.
• Daniel Fung, a pianist from Vancouver, Canada
• Kristina Saar Gaschel, a soprano from Castleton, N.Y.
• Jonathan Johnson, a tenor from Macon, Ga.
• Gloria Kim, a pianist from Houston, Texas
• Lauren-Rose King, a soprano from New York City
• Lydia McClain, a soprano from Latrobe, Penn.
• Bradley Smoak, a baritone from Cary, N.C.

The nine emerging artists will take part in an immersive series of coaching sessions, masterclasses, lectures and recitals. The Fall Island Vocal Arts Seminar is aimed at reinvigorating individual artistry through American art song, by hand-picking emerging artists of unique and promising ability.

This year's Fall Island Vocal Arts Seminar will feature three public masterclasses, where Blythe and Smith will work with the Fall Island participants. The masterclasses will all be offered from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., on Thursday, May 21, Friday, May 22, and Saturday, May 23. All masterclasses will be held in the Sara M. Snell Music Theater.

A culminating recital featuring the seminar participants will be held on Sunday, May 24 at 2 p.m. in Snell Theater. These events are free, educational and open to the public. Seating is available on a first-come, first-served basis.

About the Fall Island Vocal Arts Seminar:

Now in its fourth season, the Fall Island Vocal Arts Seminar provides a venue for emerging professional singers and collaborative pianists to explore the highest level of creativity and musicianship in a nurturing and intimate setting. Led by Metropolitan Opera star Stephanie Blythe as Artistic Director, and Music Director Alan Smith, along with Executive Director Carleen Graham and Associate Director Audrey Saccone, the seminar has invited six singers and three pianists to Potsdam, NY, for a week of intimate and intensive study. All music performed during the week is by living American composers. To learn more about the Fall Island Vocal Arts Seminar at SUNY Potsdam's Crane School of Music, visit www.fallisland.org.

About The Crane School of Music:

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. For more information about The Crane School of Music, visit www.potsdam.edu/crane.

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Posted Monday May 11, 2015 at 11:32 am by SUNY Potsdam
Last Updated Monday May 11, 2015 at 03:54 pm