Kansas City Tenor Andrew Fuchs Sings at Fall Island Vocal Arts Seminar

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Andrew Fuchs, a tenor from Kansas City, Mo., will be featured in the 2013 Fall Island Vocal Arts Seminar at SUNY Potsdam’s Crane School of Music.

POTSDAM, NY (04/30/2013)(readMedia)-- Andrew Fuchs, a tenor from Kansas City, Mo., is among only nine rising musicians chosen from a national search to take part in the 2013 Fall Island Vocal Arts Seminar.

Now in its second season, the Fall Island Vocal Arts Seminar will feature the local artist in masterclasses and concerts from May 20 to May 26, at The Crane School of Music at The State University of New York at Potsdam. Audiences will be able to take in world-class recital performances throughout the week.

Metropolitan Opera star Stephanie Blythe '92 co-founded the Fall Island Vocal Arts Seminar, along with Executive Director Dr. Carleen Graham, a professor of opera at SUNY Potsdam's Crane School of Music. The unique program, which is in residence at the College, is a venue for emerging singers and pianists to cultivate their artistry through contemporary American art song.

Six singers and three pianists (ages 23 to 35) were selected from a competitive national audition to work with Blythe and Music Director Dr. Alan Smith, a noted pianist, vocal coach and composer.

The 2013 Fall Island participants include:

• Kelly Ballou, a soprano from Shepherdsville, Ky.
• Bretton Brown, a pianist from Murray, Ky.
• Andrew Fuchs, a tenor from Kansas City, Mo.
• Bradley King, a baritone from Denton, Texas
• Laura Mercado-Wright, a mezzo-soprano from Austin, Texas
• Diana Newman, a soprano from Malibu, Calif.
• Yi Kai Sim, a pianist from Singapore
• Peter Walsh, a pianist from San Diego, Calif.
• Jennifer Youngs, a soprano from Overland Parks, Kan.

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 energizing emerging artists of unique and promising ability.

Blythe and her frequent collaborator Craig Terry will present "We'll Meet Again: The Songs of Kate Smith" at SUNY Potsdam's Crane School of Music on Tuesday, May 21 at 7:30 p.m, in a special performance to benefit the seminar. The recital was featured on a recent PBS broadcast of "Live from Lincoln Center."

Tickets for "We'll Meet Again" 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. Contact the Community Performance Series Box Office at (315) 267-2277 or visit www.cpspotsdam.org to purchase tickets.

There will be two public masterclasses featuring Blythe and Smith working with the Fall Island participants, on Thursday, May 23 and Friday, May 24. The public masterclasses will both be held from 10 a.m. to noon in Snell Theater.

"The Music of Alan Louis Smith," a lecture-recital featuring the composer and the seminar participants, will be offered on Thursday, May 23 at 7 p.m. in the Ralph Wakefield Recital Hall.

A culminating recital featuring the seminar participants will be held on Saturday, May 25 at 7:30 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 musician:

Originally from Kansas City, Mo., Andrew Fuchs received his Bachelor of Music degree in voice from the University of Kansas and his master's degree in voice from Stony Brook University. His performance credits include Belmonte ("Die Entführung aus dem Serail"), Ferrando ("Così fan Tutte"), the title role in Carissimi's "Jephte," the title role in Peter Winkler's "Fox Fables" for the New York premiere at Symphony Space, Acis ("Acis and Galatea"), Tom Rakewell in abridged performances of "The Rake's Progress," Maximinian ("Dioclesian"), Zotico (Cavalli's "Eliogabalo"), Lorenzo ("I Capuleti e i Montecchi"), Will Parker ("Oklahoma!") and Tonio in scenes from "La Fille du Régiment."

In concert, he has sung Bach's "Magnificat" at Alice Tully Hall with the American Classical Orchestra, the Evangelist in Bach's "St. John Passion" and Saint Nicolas in Britten's "Saint Nicolas Cantata," as well as Britten's "Songs from the Chinese" and "Serenade for Tenor and Horn," and Brahms's "Liebeslieder Waltzes" with the Diamond Opera Theater. Fuchs has been a soloist with the Stony Brook Symphony Orchestra numerous times, most notably in Mendelssohn's "Elijah." He has also performed at the Boston Early Music Festival and the Amherst Early Music Festival.

Fuchs spent two summers at the Seagle Music Colony, was a Stern Fellow at SongFest and this past summer, was a vocal fellow at the Tanglewood Music Center. He has been invited to return to Tanglewood for the 2013 season. Also in 2013, Andrew will complete his doctorate at Stony Brook, with a final doctoral recital that focuses on 20th century American Midwestern composers.

About the Fall Island Vocal Arts Seminar:

Now in its second season, the Fall Island Vocal Arts Seminar provides a venue for emerging professional singers and collaborative pianists to hone their love of art song and the collaborative experience. 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, N.Y., for a week of intimate and intensive study. All music performed will feature an American composer.

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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