Pianist Ryan McCullough of Eureka, Calif., Performs at 2014 Fall Island Vocal Arts Seminar

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Ryan McCullough, a pianist from Eureka, Calif., will be featured in the 2014 Fall Island Vocal Arts Seminar at SUNY Potsdam’s Crane School of Music.

POTSDAM, NY (05/15/2014)(readMedia)-- Ryan McCullough, a pianist from Eureka, Calif., is among only nine rising musicians chosen from a national search to take part in the 2014 Fall Island Vocal Arts Seminar.

Now in its third season, the Fall Island Vocal Arts Seminar will feature the local artist in masterclasses and concerts from May 19 to May 24 at SUNY Potsdam's Crane School of Music. 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 The 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 between the ages of 23 and 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 2014 Fall Island participants include:

• Jordan Davidson, tenor, from Philadelphia, N.Y.
• Adam Ewing, baritone, from Hiawatha, Kan.
• Kate Jackman, mezzo-soprano, from Tyler, Texas
• Hyona Kim, mezzo-soprano, from Seoul, South Korea
• Sara LeMesh, mezzo-soprano, from San Rafael, Calif.
• Ryan McCullough, pianist, from Eureka, Calif.
• Ronny Michael Greenberg, pianist, from Montreal, Quebec
• Peter Walsh, pianist, from San Diego, Calif.
• Nathan Wyatt, baritone, from Carrboro, 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.

Along with Crane alumna Margaret Lattimore '91, Blythe and Smith will present "America Sings!," a program that celebrates American art and folk song, including the works of Dr. Smith, on Tuesday, March 20 at 7:30 p.m. in the Proscenium Theater in the College's new Performing Arts Center. Tickets for the benefit recital 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.

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 be offered on Thursday, May 22 at 10 a.m. and 7:30 p.m., and on Friday, May 23 at 10 a.m. in the Sara M. Snell Music Theater at The Crane School of Music.

A culminating recital featuring the seminar Fellows will be held on Saturday, May 24 at 7:30 p.m. in Snell Theater. These educational events are free and open to the public. Seating is available on a first-come, first-serve basis.

About the musician:

American pianist Ryan MacEvoy McCullough has developed a diverse career as a soloist and collaborator, comfortable with repertoire ranging from standard works to electroacoustic improvisation. He has appeared as concerto soloist with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Sarasota Festival Orchestra, the Colburn Conservatory Orchestra, the Orange County Wind Symphony and World Festival Orchestra, working with such conductors as Fabien Gabel, Gisele Ben-Dur, Leonid Grin, Larry Rachleff, Mischa Santora, Joshua Weilerstein and Christoph Eschenbach. He has performed alongside the Mark Morris Dance Group, contemporary ensemble Eighth Blackbird, and festivals including the Tanglewood Music Center, Token Creek Chamber Music Festival, Sarasota Festival and Nohant International Chopin Festival.

McCullough has worked closely with composers George Benjamin, John Harbison, Helen Grime and Andrew McPherson, and has commissioned or been the dedicatee of works by James Primosch, Carter Pann, John Liberatore, Jenny Beck, Benjamin Scheuer and Dante De Silva. In 2008, he released an album of solo piano music by 20th-century Polish-French composer Mi?osz Magin on the Polish label Acte Prealable, and in 2013 was featured on an Innova Records release of composer Andrew McPherson's "Secrets of Antikythera" for magnetic resonator piano.

McCullough earned his bachelor's degree from Humboldt State University and his Master of Music degree from the University of Southern California, as well Artist Diplomas from the Colburn Conservatory and the Glenn Gould School. He has studied with Deborah Clasquin, David Louie and John Perry, in addition to influential work with Stephen Drury, Leon Fleisher and Xak Bjerken. McCullough is currently a Sage Fellow in contemporary performance practice at Cornell University.

About the Fall Island Vocal Arts Seminar:

Now in its third 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, NY, for a week of intimate and intensive study. All music performed 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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