Santa Barbara Pianist Bridget Hough-Meynenc Performs at Fall Island Vocal Arts Seminar

Local Artist Takes Part in Inaugural Music Festival Featuring Stephanie Blythe at SUNY Potsdam's Crane School of Music

POTSDAM, NY (05/08/2012)(readMedia)-- Bridget Hough-Meynenc, a pianist from Santa Barbara, Calif., is among only 10 rising musicians chosen to take part in an ambitious new music festival in Potsdam, N.Y.

The Fall Island Vocal Arts Seminar will feature local artist Hough-Meynenc 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:

Born in Santa Barbara, Bridget Hough-Meynenc, pianist, received her Bachelor of Arts degree in music from the University of California, Santa Barbara, summa cum laude. She has played for masterclasses conducted by the St. Lawrence String Quartet, as well as the Emerson String Quartet, and was the featured pianist for the Santa Maria Philharmonic 2008 benefit concert premiering works by Efrem Zimbalist Sr. and Efrem Zimbalist Jr. During the past two years, she has focused on her passion for collaborative piano, working extensively with the UCSB vocal department's opera scenes program, as well as playing many recitals with a variety of singers and instrumentalists. Hough-Meynenc is currently pursuing her master's and doctorate in piano at UCSB under the direction of professors Paul Berkowitz and Robert Koenig.

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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