John Riesen

John Riesen
Riesen in 2020
Background information
Birth nameJohn Riesen
Born (1990-05-29) May 29, 1990 (age 34)
Ilion, New York, U.S.
Genres
Occupations
  • Singer
  • actor
  • performer
  • musician
Instruments
  • Vocals
  • piano
Years active2014–present
Labels
  • Blue Griffin Records
Formerly of
  • Metaphysic
Spouse
Gillian Riesen
​
(m. 2017)​
[1]
Websitejohnriesen.com

John Riesen (born 29 May 1990) is an American singer, actor, and musician best known for his performances as a tenor in musical theater, opera, and concerts. He was a semifinalist on America's Got Talent, has played lead roles in musical productions at Lincoln Center, and Segerstrom Center for the Arts, and performed in concert at Carnegie Hall.[2][3][4][5][6]

Riesen was an associate producer on Aaron Lazar's Impossible Dream album released in 2024. The record was nominated for a Grammy Award and charted at #2 on Billboard's Classical Crossover Album chart in 2024.[7][8][9]

Early life and education

John Riesen grew up in the Detroit area of Michigan. He was an avid baseball player (pitcher) and was awarded All-Region and All-State Academic honors.[10][11][12] He began singing as a teenager and majored in voice performance and opera at Michigan State University where he received his Bachelor's and Master's Degrees.[13]

Career

Riesen is a singer (tenor), actor, and musician (piano). In high school he excelled in sports as a baseball pitcher then began pursuing a career in opera and musical theatre.[14] He has performed with Marcus Hummon and Marina Arsenijevic and released two studio albums, What You’d Call a Dream (2019) and Christmas at Home (2020).[15][16][17][18]

In 2013, Riesen won 1st place "Tenor" and "Audience Favorite" at the Harold Haugh Opera Vocal Competition as well as being awarded a "Jackson Symphony Contract Winner".[19][20] In that same year, playing Frederic, he sang, "When You Had Left our Pirate Fold (A Paradox)", from the Pirates of Penzance, at Ruth Bader Ginsburg's speech on how the "law plays a palpable role in opera."[21] In 2014, he won the "Apprentice Award" by the Chautauqua Opera.[11][22] In 2022, he sang, the "American Anthem" at the Patriot Gala Awards ceremony for Medal of Honor recipients, hosted by Gary Sinise in Knoxville, Tennessee.[23]

Riesen has played lead roles in such musicals as Sweeney Todd, West Side Story, Glory Denied, La traviata and Beethoven's Ninth, performing with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, New York City Ballet, and Boulder Philharmonic Orchestra, among others.[24][25][26][4][3] [27][28] He played the lead role of Tony in West Side Story Suite at Lincoln Center[29] and was a featured tenor in Messiah, conducted by Kent Tritle, at Carnegie Hall.[4][6] Riesen played a lead role as a tenor and actor in Marcus Hummon's Favorite Son, which premiered at the Nashville Opera in 2022.[30][15] He is an associate producer on Aaron Lazar's 2024 album release, Impossible Dream, featuring Josh Groban, Neil Patrick Harris, Kristin Chenoweth, and Kelli O'Hara, among others.[31]

Riesen was a semifinalist on America's Got Talent (Episode 1716). The trio (Riesen, Patrick Dailey, and Daniel Emmet) using Metaphysic AI and deepfake multimedia, sang, "Nessun dorma" from Turandot with imagery of Simon Cowell, Terry Crews and Howie Mandel singing together. Riesen performed as Mandel and they received a standing ovation from judges, Cowell, Heidi Klum, and Sofia Vergara as well as Cowell saying that it was "the best act of the series."[32][33][34]

Personal life

Riesen resides in Buffalo, New York with his wife, Gillian (née Cotter), their son, Roman, and daughter, Eleanor.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b "The Times," Christmas at Home with the Riesens Page A1, December 19, 2020
  2. ^ "'America's Got Talent' finalists: the 10 acts competing against Mayyas by Evelyn Lau". The National News. September 13, 2022. Retrieved July 3, 2024.
  3. ^ a b "Beethoven's Ninth at Segerstrom Center for the Arts" (PDF). Pacific Symphony. January 9, 2024. Retrieved June 30, 2024.
  4. ^ a b c "Pacific Symphony's La traviata Fills the Bill by Steven Winn". San Francisco Classical Voice. June 7, 2021. Retrieved June 29, 2024.
  5. ^ "Amaranta Viera - Carnegie Hall". Amaranta Viera. Retrieved July 1, 2024.
  6. ^ a b "John Riesen and Kent Tritle". Concert Archives. December 21, 2021. Retrieved July 1, 2024.
  7. ^ "Aaron Lazar Unites Sting, Kristin Chenoweth, Josh Groban and 75+ Broadway Stars for 'Impossible Dream' Video by David Quinn". People. August 22, 2024. Retrieved September 23, 2024.
  8. ^ "2025 Grammy Nominations Full List". Grammy. November 8, 2024. Retrieved November 8, 2024.
  9. ^ "Billboard Classical Crossover Album Chart". Billboard. September 7, 2024. Retrieved September 23, 2024.
  10. ^ "Detroit Free Press," Baseball Page 31, May 22, 2008
  11. ^ a b "The Times," Awards Page C3, September 11, 2014
  12. ^ "Meet John Riesen". Canvas Rebel. October 13, 2002. Retrieved June 29, 2024.
  13. ^ "The College of Music Showcase Series - MSU's Home for the Holidays" (PDF). MSU. December 1, 2012. Retrieved July 3, 2024.
  14. ^ "Former baseball pitcher turned opera singer releases Christmas album by Natasha Barbieri". Crossover Music Magazine. November 29, 2020. Retrieved June 30, 2024.
  15. ^ a b "Favorite Son". Nashville Opera. January 21, 2022. Retrieved June 29, 2024.
  16. ^ "Nashville Opera Presents Marcus Hummon's FAVORITE SON". Nashville Opera. August 15, 2022. Retrieved June 29, 2024.
  17. ^ "We Are The Champions by Emmy nominated Marina Arsenijevic with tenor John Riesen". Marina Arsenijevic. September 20, 2020. Retrieved June 29, 2024.
  18. ^ "John Riesen - What You'd Call a Dream". Blue Griffin. Retrieved July 1, 2024.
  19. ^ "Harold Haugh Opera Vocal Competition". Comic Opera Guild. Retrieved June 29, 2024.
  20. ^ "Jackson Symphony Orchestra ESCAPE 2017/2018 Season" (PDF). Jackson Symphony. November 11, 2017. Retrieved July 1, 2024.
  21. ^ "Lawyers and opera: Supreme Court edition by Jess Miller". The Chautauquan Daily. July 29, 2013. Retrieved June 29, 2024.
  22. ^ "Vocal Arts Honored at Chautauqua - Vocal arts alumnus earns opportunity, awards through professional opera companies". MSU Music. August 14, 2014. Retrieved June 30, 2024.
  23. ^ "American Theme Patriot Gala Awards John Riesen". Craig Riesen. September 22, 2022. Retrieved June 30, 2024.
  24. ^ "Program: Bravo Fall 2019 Opera: Sweeney Todd - page 11". Bravo. October 10, 2019. Retrieved July 1, 2024.
  25. ^ "Westside Story - Boulder Philharmonic Orchestra". Westside Story. April 28, 2018. Retrieved July 1, 2024.
  26. ^ "Opera review: Glory Denied, a heartbreaking story of the Vietnam War and its aftermath by Susan Galbraith". DC Theatre Review. January 17, 2020. Retrieved July 1, 2024.
  27. ^ "Prohibition: The Music of Moulin Rouge, Boardwalk Empire and More!". Dallas Symphony. September 8, 2023. Retrieved June 29, 2024.
  28. ^ "John Riesen Releases Visual EP 'What You'd Call A Dream' by Sarah Jae Leiber". Broadway World. January 13, 2021. Retrieved June 30, 2024.
  29. ^ "NYC Ballet Schedule of Events". Stagetime. January 1, 2018. Retrieved June 29, 2024.
  30. ^ "Nashville Opera to debut distinctly American 'Favorite Son' by Marcus Hummon". The Tennessean. January 21, 2022. Retrieved June 30, 2024.
  31. ^ "Aaron Lazar Collaborates With Josh Groban, Kristin Chenoweth, Leslie Odom Jr., More on Impossible Dream Album to Benefit ALS Network by Margaret Hall". Playbill. June 14, 2024. Retrieved June 30, 2024.
  32. ^ "EPIC! Simon Cowell Sings Duet with Howie Mandel and Terry Crews on America's Got Talent! Metaphysic". Talent Recap. August 30, 2022. Retrieved June 30, 2024.
  33. ^ "Shreveport's got talent. Did you know professional singers train with Shreveport Opera? by Elizabeth Deal". Shreveport-Bossier Advocate. September 25, 2023. Retrieved June 29, 2024.
  34. ^ "This Tenor's Got Talent by Jan Jezioro". Buffalo Spree. Retrieved June 30, 2024.