I’m happy to announce that Ryan Reilly and Woodrow Bynum will be returning for the fourth time to perform an evening of song on July 12. Ryan, grandson of Bert and Audie Reilly of Lands End Road, has been performing at the Church since 2007 both as a soloist and in collaboration with other young artists. The concert will be at 7:30 pm and tickets are $10 at the door.
Ryan Reilly recently completed his Bachelor’s of Music at The Juilliard School, where he will begin graduate study in the fall. A student of Julian Martin, Reilly is a prizewinner in numerous competitions and has performed as soloist at Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall, Zankel Music Center, Steinway Hall, Juilliard’s Paul Hall, Troy Savings Bank Music Hall, Mountain Grove Memorial Church, and Proctors Theatre. Lauded for his “sparkling technique” and “top notch singing tones” by the Schenectady Gazette, Reilly has performed as soloist with the Schenectady Symphony Orchestra, Empire State Youth Orchestra, and Luzerne Music Center Orchestra. Upcoming performances include the Gijon International Piano Festival, and Brahms Second Piano Concerto with the Schenectady Symphony Orchestra in November. His past teachers include Aniko Szokody, Toby Blumenthal, Ernest Barretta and Seymour Lipkin. He has also studied with/and performed in masterclasses for Arie Vardi, Murray Perahia, Midori, Dominique Weber, and Kenneth Weiss.
Woodrow Bynum was born in Arkansas in 1975 and began pursuing his musical education at The Interlochen Arts Academy before graduating summa cum laude from The University of Michigan. Following a residency at The Detroit Opera House, Bynum moved to New York City and studied at The Juilliard School and sang in the choir of Saint Thomas Church Fifth Avenue. As a professional singer, Bynum appears regularly in concert with orchestras and choirs alike. Recent solo appearances include the role of Zebul in Handel’s Jeptha at Boston Symphony Hall and Disney Concert Hall (Los Angeles), B Minor Mass with Harry Christophers and the Handel & Haydn Society at Symphony Hall Boston, Messiah with both Dallas Bach Society and The Arcadia Players, St. John Passion at Saint Thomas Church Fifth Avenue. He has also appeared as soloist in Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony and Mendelssohn’s Elijah. Known for his work as a choir and voice trainer, Bynum took up his post as Director of Music at The Cathedral of All Saints in 2007. Under his direction, the choir has made three recordings including a complete performance of Handel’s Messiah with period instrument orchestra, Music for a Royal Occasion, including Mozart Coronation Mass and Handel Coronation Anthems, and most recently, To thee all angels cry aloud—The Choral Music of Benjamin Britten. Bynum studied voice with Lorna Haywood, Rita Shane and Beverley Peck Johnson, and his other musical influences include Robert Glasgow, Gerre Hancock, and John Scott.