Soprano Lauren-Rose King of New York City Performs at 2015 Fall Island Vocal Arts Seminar

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Lauren-Rose King, a soprano from New York City, will be featured in the 2015 Fall Island Vocal Arts Seminar at SUNY Potsdam’s Crane School of Music.

POTSDAM, NY (05/13/2015)(readMedia)-- Lauren-Rose King, a soprano from New York City, is among only nine rising musicians chosen from a national search to take part in the 2015 Fall Island Vocal Arts Seminar.

Now in its fourth season, the Fall Island Vocal Arts Seminar will feature King in masterclasses and concerts from May 18 to May 24 at The Crane School of Music at The State University of New York of Potsdam. Audiences will be able to take in world-class recital performances and masterclasses 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 program, which is in residence at the College, provides a unique opportunity for emerging singers and pianists to cultivate their artistry through American art song written by living composers.

Six singers and three pianists between the ages 23 and 35 were selected from a competitive national audition to work with Blythe and Music Director Dr. Alan Louis Smith, a noted pianist, vocal coach and composer, who is also a member of the faculty at the University of Southern California's Thornton School of Music and at the Tanglewood Music Center. Rounding out the team is Associate Director Audrey Saccone '12, digital media manager for OPERA America in New York City.

The 2015 Fall Island participants include:

• Aram Arakelyan, a pianist from Yerevan, Armenia
• Stephen Carroll, a tenor from Scotch Plains, N.J.
• Daniel Fung, a pianist from Vancouver, Canada
• Kristina Saar Gaschel, a soprano from Castleton, N.Y.
• Jonathan Johnson, a tenor from Macon, Ga.
• Gloria Kim, a pianist from Houston, Texas
• Lauren-Rose King, a soprano from New York City
• Lydia McClain, a soprano from Latrobe, Penn.
• Bradley Smoak, a bass from Cary, 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.

Blythe will present works by special guest composer-in-residence Ricky Ian Gordon for a recital featuring his music on Thursday, March 21 at 7:30 p.m., in the Sara M. Snell Music Theater at SUNY Potsdam's Crane School of Music. All nine fellows, along with Blythe and Smith, will perform on the evening's program.

Tickets for "An Evening with Ricky Ian Gordon" 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 all be offered from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., on Thursday, May 21, Friday, May 22, and Saturday, May 23. All masterclasses will be held in the Sara M. Snell Music Theater.

A culminating recital featuring the seminar participants will be held on Sunday, May 24 at 2 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 artist:

New York City-based soprano Lauren-Rose King has been praised for her "fantastic comic timing, extraordinarily clear voice and memorable agility" by DC Metro Theatre Arts. This year has been filled with a variety of engagements: She made her Carnegie Hall debut with two ensembles -- the Bard Festival Chorale and the Marble Collegiate Choir -- and also performed with the Center for Contemporary Opera. King can also be heard on the center's recording of François Dompierre's new opera, "Is Paris Burning?" She also toured Poland with Boston Baroque, performing the Monteverdi Vespers of 1610. More recently, she was a soloist in a Marble Music Next Door performance, Contemporary Elements: New Song in New York. In 2014, King participated in SongFest and performed in daily concerts and masterclasses with Libby Larsen, John Musto and Jake Heggie. She was a 2013 National Finalist in the Classical Singer Competition, first place winner in the 2009 New England region National Association of Teachers of Singing Competition, and took first place in the New England Conservatory's 2007 Concerto Competition. Some of her favorite stage roles include Puccini's "La Bohème" (Musetta), Mozart's "Die Zauberflöte" (Königin der Nacht), Mozart's "Così fan Tutte" (Despina), Sondheim's "Sweeney Todd" (Johanna), Gilbert and Sullivan's "The Gondoliers" (Gianetta), Rodgers and Hammerstein's "Show Boat" (Magnolia), Gilbert and Sullivan's "Iolanthe" (Phyllis), Sondheim's "A Little Night Music" (Mrs. Nordstrom), Gilbert and Sullivan's "H.M.S. Pinafore" (Josephine), Ravel's "L'Enfant et les Sortilèges" (Le feu), Poulenc's "Les Dialogues des Carmelites" (Soeur Contance) and Romberg and Hammerstein's "The Desert Song" (Margot). King received a Master of Music in vocal performance from the University of Maryland Opera Studio and a Bachelor of Music from New England Conservatory.

About the Fall Island Vocal Arts Seminar:

Now in its fourth season, the Fall Island Vocal Arts Seminar provides a venue for emerging professional singers and collaborative pianists to explore the highest level of creativity and musicianship in a nurturing and intimate setting. 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 during the week 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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