Ryan Bede
Biography
Ryan Bede, baritone, joined the Belmont faculty as an Instructor of Classical Voice in the Fall of 2022. He completed his studies at the University Of Washington (M.M., D.M.A. expected Spring 2023) and the University Of Puget Sound (B.M.) and taught previously on the faculty of Seattle Pacific University before relocating to the Nashville area. Among his repertoire of nearly thirty operatic roles, his most frequent have been Count Almaviva in Le Nozze di Figaro, Papageno in The Magic Flute, Schaunard in La Bohème, and Albert in Werther. He appeared regularly as a principal artist with Seattle Opera for several seasons, singing Fiorello in The Barber Of Seville, Prince Yamadori in Madama Butterfly, and Moralés in Carmen. He made his Nashville Opera mainstage debut as Mr. Gobineau in Menotti's The Medium in October 2022. He is also deeply passionate about contemporary American opera and has sung Jim Crowley in Jack Perla's An American Dream to great acclaim. In the summer of 2015, he premiered the role of the Land Speculator in Sarah Mattox's opera Heart Mountain. He also recently performed a recital in commemoration of the 20th anniversary of 9/11, featuring Jake Heggie's Pieces Of 9/11. His concert engagements have included numerous performances of Handel's Messiah, Mozart's Requiem as well as those by Brahms, Duruflé, and Fauré, and Vaughan Williams' Fantasia On Christmas Carols and Serenade To Music, among others. One of his doctoral recitals featured J.S. Bach's two solo cantatas for bass, Ich habe genug (BWV 82) and Ich will den Kreuzstab gerne tragen (BWV 56), and his repertoire also includes Bach's Magnificat and Christmas Oratorio.
He is an active member of the National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS) and recently completed a term as President of the Tahoma chapter. His students have won awards at the regional and national levels, and he also has served for several years on the Northwest regional auditions committee. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he was active in planning numerous virtual presentations for NATS at both the local and regional levels and continues as a regular presenter for the Emerald Choral Academy based in Seattle. Outside of working with students at Belmont, he is the baritone soloist and section leader at First Presbyterian Church Nashville and frequently performs with the Nashville chapter of Opera On Tap.