POTSDAM, NY (05/08/2012)(readMedia)-- Lauren Michelle, a soprano from Los Angeles, 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 Lauren Michelle 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 Metropolitan Opera mezzo-soprano with a "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:

Lauren Michelle, soprano, originally from Los Angeles, received her bachelor's degree from The Juilliard School and master's degree from UCLA. Her performances in academia included roles, scenes and song recitals primarily in the baroque, classical and bel canto repertoire, generating praise for her shimmering voice quality and her dramatic stage presence. Outside of the conservatory, she has enjoyed performing for and educating young audiences in a number of venues in New York, Boston, Los Angeles, Italy, England and South Africa. Lauren Michelle has won first prize in both the Leontyne Price Competition and the National Association of Teachers of Singing Competition, and has been presented in concert at Carnegie Hall's Weill Recital Hall. She spent a year and a half in Florence, Italy as an apprentice at the Teatro Communale di Firenze, becoming fluent in Italian and performing the role of Lauretta in "Gianni Schicchi" and the title role in Reynaldo Hahn's "Mozart." She has sung recitals of Lieder and French/American art songs at festivals throughout France and the United States. She has participated in a variety of music programs and festivals, including Boston University's Tanglewood Institute, and the prestigious Banff Center in Canada, where she sang the lead role of Helena in Britten's "A Midsummer Night's Dream." Lauren continues vocal studies with Vladimir Chernov. She has recently been engaged with a multidisciplinary performance group, Company XIV, with whom she has sung and danced in more than 40 performances in Scotland and New York this year alone.

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.

###

Posted Tuesday May 08, 2012 at 11:22 am by SUNY Potsdam
Last Updated Friday May 11, 2012 at 01:04 pm