West Bay Opera

Gary Ruschman

Gary Ruschman made his West Bay Opera debut in 1998 as Lindoro in the Italian Girl in Algiers, and returned in 2000 in the role of Ferrando in Così fan tutte. With over thirty premieres to his credit, Mr. Ruschman has also sung leading tenor roles with Portland Opera (where he was a 2002 Mary Stuart Rogers Fellow), San Francisco Opera Center, the San Francisco Opera Guild, Pocket Opera, Berkeley Opera, Lake Tahoe Summer Music Festival, and Lamplighters Music Theatre. His roles include include Tamino in Die Zauberflöte, Alfred in Die Fledermaus, Lurcanio in Handel's Ariodante, and Mercury in Orpheus in the Underworld. He recently sang the role of Nanki-Poo with Mock's Crest Theatre in Portland, Ore., and the title role in Shostakovich's The Nose.

A versatile vocalist, Mr. Ruschman is one of the Bay Area's busiest young musicians, singing everything from Rossini to Rush, Mozart to Thelonious Monk. Recent concert appearances include the California Bach Society (Monteverdi's Christmas Vespers), Ballet San Jose (Erik Norby's The Red Shoes) San Francisco City Chorus (Elijah and The Creation), and his countertenor debut in Bernstein's Chichester Psalms and also the Bach B-minor Mass with Diablo Valley Masterworks Chorale, Ohlone College, and the West Marin Music Festival. His concert repertoire includes Cantatas 4 and 140, Magnificat, and the B-minor Mass of J.S. Bach; Beethoven's Mass in C; Bruckner's Requiem; Mozart's Missa Brevis in F, `Coronation' Mass, and Requiem; Carmina Burana; Saint-Saëns' Christmas Oratorio; Britten's Serenade for Tenor, Horn, and Strings; and Handel's Messiah.

Most recently focusing on early music, new music, and jazz, Mr. Ruschman has concertized in Salzburg, Greater Cincinnati, Chicago, Cleveland, Louisville, and throughout the San Francisco Bay area. He won the Holt Memorial Scholarship in 1999, and holds degrees with honors from Northern Kentucky University and the San Francisco Conservatory of Music.

Gary Ruschman's Web Site

8 Oct 2002