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The American tenor, conductor and music teacher, Ryan Lee Turner, obtained his Bachelor of Music degree in Voice/Music Theory from Southern Methodist University (1990-1995); and his Master of Music degree Boston Conservatory at Berklee (1995-1997).
Ryan Turner has performed as tenor soloist to critical acclaim in oratorio, opera, and recital throughout the USA and Europe. Recent seasons have featured appearances with the Handel and Haydn Society, Mark Morris Dance Group, Apollo's Fire, Santa Fe Pro Musica, Boston Modern Orchestra Project, Seattle Baroque Orchestra, Boston Baroque, Boston Camerata, Boston Cecilia, Kings Noyse, Ensemble Abendmusik, Baltimore Choral Arts, Lyric Opera Cleveland, Coro Allegro, Cambridge Bach Ensemble (Director: Scott Metcalfe), Masterworks Chorale, Handel Society of Dartmouth College, and Opera Aperta. He has sung under the baton of conductors Christopher Hogwood, Jane Glover, Grant Llewellyn, Paul McCreesh, Rinaldo Alessandrini, Bruno Weil, Benjamin Zander, Jeannette Sorrell, Craig Smith, and John Harbison. Some highlights include performances with the Mark Morris Dance Group in George Frideric Handel’s L’Allegro, il Penseroso ed il Moderato, and fifteen years as tenor soloist with Emmanuel Music: Bach Cantata Series (since 1998). He made his Carnegie Hall debut as the tenor soloist in G.F. Handel's Messiah in 2008, with a return in 2016. His festival appearances include the Carmel Bach Festival (6 seasons), Tanglewood, Holland Festival Oude Muzieke, and the Boston Early Music Festival. His discography includes J.S. Bach's BWV 76 with Emmanuel Music, Michael Praetorius's Christmas Vespers with Apollo's Fire and Kapsberger’s Apotheosis with Ensemble Abendmusik.
Also an active conductor and teacher, Ryan Turner served as Music Director of the Concord Chorale and Chamber Orchestra from (2001-2010); Director of Choral Activities at Phillips Exeter Academy (2006-2012). He has also served as Assistant Director of Choral Activities at the University of Rhode Island, as Interim Director of Choral Activities at Plymouth State University, New England Conservatory, taught at Boston College, and has directed the Bach Institute at SongFest. He is currently Artistic Director of Emmanuel Music (since September 2010); and on the Voice and Early Music Faculty at Longy School of Music of Bard College.
Hailed as “powerfully expressive” (Boston Classical Review), an “effervescent” conductor of “finesse” (Boston Globe) and a “thinking man’s conductor” (Boston Musical Intelligencer), Ryan Turner stands alone for his masterful interpretations of J.S. Bach, Igor Stravinsky, and John Harbison. Now in his tenth season as Artistic Director of Emmanuel Music in Boston, he has established himself as a sterling conductor and innovative programmer. Praising his performance of John Harbison’s The Great Gatsby, critics remarked on his “supple, even liquid shaping of phrase, impeccable technique and truly refreshing communication of the intimacy of ensemble playing.”
Passionate and assiduously fluent in the music of J.S. Bach, Ryan Turner has conducted over 170 J.S. Bach cantatas and the complete masterworks of J.S. Bach: the St. John Passion (BWV 245), St. Matthew Passion (BWV 244), his own reconstruction of the St. Mark Passion (BWV 247), Mass in B minor (BWV 232) and Christmas Oratorio (BWV 248), and the complete Orchestral Suites. In addition, he has led major works by Igor Stravinsky, W.A. Mozart, George Frideric Handel, and John Harbison. A champion of new music, Ryan Turner has programmed and premiered the works of composers John Harbison, Matthew Aucoin, James Primosch, Brett Johnson, and Ben Houge.
As an opera conductor, Ryan Turner recently led acclaimed performances with the Boston Lyric Opera of Frank Martin’s Le Vin herbé and Philip Glass’s In the Penal Colony. At the helm of Emmanuel Music, he has conducted Igor Stravinsky’s Rake’s Progress, John Harbison’s The Great Gatsby, W.A. Mozart’s La Clemenza di Tito, Die Enthführung aus dem Serail, and Apollo et Hyacinthus, G.F. Handel's Susanna and Apollo e Dafne, Weill’s The Seven Deadly Sins, and Sondheim’s A Little Night Music. In November 2021, he conducted performances of G.F. Handel's opera Alcina at the Longy School of Music
Ryan Turner lives north of Boston with his wife, soprano Susan Consoli, and their two children, Aidan and Caroline. |
