Singapore Pianist Yi Kai Sim Performs at Fall Island Vocal Arts Seminar

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Yi Kai Sim, a pianist from Singapore, 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)-- Yi Kai Sim, a pianist from Singapore, 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:

Described as "a deep and sensitive musician with a noble, delicate tone quality," Singaporean pianist Yi Kai Sim was awarded the second prize in the open category of the 2006 International IBLA Piano Competition. He obtained his bachelor's in piano performance from the University of Wales, and was awarded a full fellowship and teaching assistantship to pursue his master's degree in music at the University of California, Santa Barbara.

As a collaborative pianist, Yi Kai has performed extensively with both vocalists and instrumentalists from Eastern and Western hemispheres. He has been recently invited to perform in the United States, China and in Singapore with renowned double-bassist Jacek Mirucki and other chamber instrumentalists. As an opera répétiteur, he was rehearsal pianist for Offenbach's "Les Contes d'Hoffmann" and Rossini's "Il Barbiere di Siviglia."

In 2009 and 2010, Yi Kai collaborated in two sold-out recitals at the Esplanade, with prize-winning Yale violinist and concertmaster of the Orchestra of the Music Makers, Edward Tan. In 2011, Yi Kai was invited as a guest artist with renowned musicians Jacek Mirucki and Hidehiro Fujita in a joint chamber concert to raise awareness for the Japan tsunami disaster. He was also invited to perform at the inaugural Singapore Saxophone Symposium Gala concert, appearing in a trio with saxophonist Dan Gelok and violinist Si-Ning Chan. He was also appointed the resident pianist of Music Infusion, a group of passionate instrumentalists who strive to enrich the local arts scene with their concerts featuring the "Butterfly Lovers' Concerto" written for piano trio and arrangements of tangos by Piazzolla.

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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