Shepherd School student to sing on American Public Media’s ‘Performance Today’

Graduate student in vocal performance Jack Swanson was recently selected to represent the Shepherd School of Music as part of American Public Media’s “Performance Today” Young Artists in Residence series. The segments will be broadcast on Houston Public Media Classical 91.7 Jan. 27-29 at 10 a.m. daily and will be available online.

Jack Swanson

“Performance Today,” a popular classical music radio program, is broadcast on 292 public radio stations across the country and reaches approximately 1.4 million listeners each week.

Earlier this month Swanson traveled to the public radio studio in St. Paul, Minn., for a series of recording sessions with “Performance Today” host Fred Child. The program’s Young Artists Series invites musicians from the top American conservatories to participate in a weeklong residency, where they perform and discuss their backgrounds, ambitions and what it means to be a musician.

Swanson showcased his vocal range with a variety of works, ranging from Schumann’s “Dichterliebe” to Bernstein’s “Maria” from “West Side Story.”

“The ‘Performance Today’ project was a such a neat experience for me and I had never had the opportunity to record this type of repertoire in a recording studio,” Swanson said. “It was a great learning experience and I am honored to have been asked to be this years candidate from Rice University.”

Swanson is a student of Stephen King, the Lynette S. Autrey Chair of Voice at the Shepherd School. A native of Stillwater, Minn., Swanson is a lyric tenor. In 2014 he joined the prestigious Santa Fe Opera Apprentice Program, where he sang the role of the first Japanese Envoy in Stravinsky’s “Le Rossignol.” He performed several leading roles while pursuing his undergraduate degree at the University of Oklahoma, including Nemorino in “L’elisir d’amore,” Fenton in “Falstaff” and Don Ottavio in “Don Giovanni.” Swanson was a young artist with the Seagle Music Colony for two summers, performing the title role in Britten’s comedic opera “Albert Herring.”

Swanson has won several competitions and in 2015 placed first in the Florida Grand Opera’s Young Patroness Competition, the San Antonio Music Club competition and the National Opera Association competition. His concert credits include the entirety of Handel’s “Messiah” and the tenor role in Dubois’ “The Seven Last Words of Christ.”

More information on Swanson can be found at www.jackswansontenor.com.

This is the fourth year the Shepherd School has participated in the public radio program. To hear the 2013 sessions with cellist Coleman Itzkoff, visit bit.ly/1Pn7Pwh. To hear the 2014 sessions with Boson Mo, visit bit.ly/1Ugns6y. To hear the 2015 sessions with Aaron Perdue, visit bit.ly/20j3onW.

For the “Performance Today” schedule and program information, visit www.classical917.org/kuha.php.