Tenor Jonathan Johnson of Macon, Ga., Performs at 2015 Fall Island Vocal Arts Seminar

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Jonathan Johnson, a tenor from Macon, Ga., 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)-- Jonathan Johnson, a tenor from Macon, Ga., 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 Johnson 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:

A native of Macon, Ga., American tenor Jonathan Johnson recently completed his first season as a member of the Patrick G. & Shirley W. Ryan Opera Center at the Lyric Opera of Chicago. In the 2014-15 Lyric Opera season, Johnson performed in "Capriccio" (Flamand, cover) and "Il Trovatore" (Ruiz). Other performance credits include Robert Ward's "The Crucible" (Ezekiel Cheever) with Piedmont Opera, and the title roles in "Candide" and "Peter Grimes" (Rev. Horace Adams) with the Aspen Summer Music Festival. Johnson earned a Master of Music degree from the A.J. Fletcher Opera Institute at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts, where his roles included Puccini's "La Rondine" (Ruggero), Britten's "Owen Wingrave" (Lechmere), Debussy's "L'Enfant Prodigue" (Azaël) and Nicolai's "Die Lustigen Weiber von Windsor." He received his Bachelor of Music degree from Mercer University's Townsend School of Music, where he sang the title role in Cavalli's "L'Egisto," "The Merry Widow" (Camille de Rosillon) and "L'Elisir d'Amore" (Nemorino). In Chicago, Johnson recently performed for the 125th Anniversary Gala of the Auditorium Theater and has been featured on WFMT Radio, as a part of the Ryan Opera Center Recital Series.

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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