Among Shannon Crowley’s post-MSU accomplishments is winning The Met’s Laffont Competition Districts in Houston.
Shannon Crowley, Brian Major, and Ben Reisinger are singing songs of success, each with a great year ahead of them on big opera stages.
All three singers are alums of the Michigan State University College of Music, guided at critical points in their education by the esteemed faculty in the MSU Vocal Arts Area. Notably, each one is a former student of renowned baritone and Professor of Voice Mark Rucker.
Crowley, who received her bachelor’s degree in vocal performance from MSU in 2022, is currently a resident artist at the Pittsburgh Opera for the 2024-2025 season. She is performing leading roles in their resident artist operas. She is also involved with the various community events and concerts with the company, and she credits the training she received at MSU for preparing her for this new role with a vibrant opera company.
“MSU laid the groundwork for this opportunity. They helped me build my fundamental skills as an artist and musician and set me on the right path to go on and continue to achieve my goals,” Crowley said. “Besides the important skills like hard work, musicianship, languages, diction, theory, and vocal technique, I feel that the most important thing MSU gave me was a true joy for the art and music that we were making. I deeply cherish that experience and often call on those feelings of joy during the more challenging times of my career.”
She said she appreciates the personal guidance of the MSU voice faculty, and scholarships from the college made an enormous difference.
Brian Major, with Professor Mark Rucker, has said that MSU allowed him time to find what made him special and what he had to offer the opera world.
“In addition to significant financial support from the College of music, I received individualized support from every instructor that I worked with at MSU,” Crowley said. “I had relationships with all the voice faculty members. I always felt like they were on my team no matter what, and I still feel that to this day.”
She went on the emphasize her thoughts on Professor Rucker, her primary voice instructor.
“I can confidently say that I owe much of my success to both Professor Rucker and his wife, Sadie,” Crowley said. “I genuinely have never felt support like I experienced during my time at MSU. The faculty struck the perfect balance between pushing and nurturing, and that was exactly what I needed from my undergraduate experience.”
Major, who received his Doctor of Musical Arts degree in vocal performance from MSU in 2019, was recently in São Paulo, Brazil, singing the title role in Verdi’s Nabucco. Later this season, he will perform in two productions at The Metropolitan Opera.
“MSU played a huge role in my career. My voice had time to mature, and I was able to develop my craft in an intimate setting,” Major said.
When he arrived at MSU to study with Professor Rucker, he said he was “a non-traditional student” since it had been eight years since he studied voice in an academic setting.
Brian Major made his debut a The Metropolitan Opera singing the role of Barone Duphoul in La Traviata in 2022.
“MSU allowed me to take the necessary time to find what made me special and what I had to offer this art form,” Major said. “Professor Rucker would say to me, ‘I can’t promise you anything, but if you give true commitment to us working together, there is no way your talent can be denied.’”
Professor Rucker was right. Major made his Metropolitan Opera debut as Baron Douphol in Giuseppe Verdi’s La Traviata in October 2022.
Reisinger, who earned his Master of Music in voice from MSU in 2023, was recently selected for the Metropolitan Opera’s Lindemann Young Artist Development Program, an exclusive young artist program that gives talented singers access to coaching and performance experiences at the Met. Attendees at a master class he participated in with the great Joyce DiDonato said he sounded fantastic. Young artists in this program are in high demand and receive frequent invitations for opportunities across the United States and abroad.
Among her roles while at MSU, Shannon Crowley sang Giulia from La Scala di Seta. She has now moved up to the highly respected Pittsburgh Opera as a resident artist.
Reisinger recently completed a Joyce DiDonato Master Class held at Carnegie Hall. MSU’s Sadie Rucker is a voice accompanist, lesson pianist, and the Vocal Arts Outreach program coordinator. She has witnessed Reisinger’s strong efforts and tenacity as he has worked at his craft, first studying as a baritone, and now singing as a tenor.
“The Met Lindemann program for young opera singers is a wonderful opportunity for Ben,” Sadie Rucker said. “He was also given a cover role in the Met’s opening production, Grounded.”
Reisinger recalls meeting the Ruckers and, like Crowley and Major, also credits the supportive faculty in voice and other areas of the College for their success.
Before joining The Met’s Lindemann Young Artist Development Program, Ben Reisinger was resident artist at Detroit Opera.
“I met Professor Rucker through the Martina Arroyo Program in New York City,” Reisinger said. “He and Sadie have been amazing and supportive. I learned how to be an artist from them, and I also appreciate Dr. David Rayl’s support and patience with me as a graduate student.”
Seeing the potential and nurturing it is a recurring theme in these success stories. In fact, there are MSU Vocal Arts alumni at various stages of their careers who are having an impact in the profession.
Melanie Helton student Katherine DeYoung, mezzo soprano, is a graduate of The Patrick G. and Shirley W. Ryan Opera Center at the Lyric Opera of Chicago, and soprano Catherine Goode sings with Central City Opera, Virginia Opera, and Kentucky Opera. Richard Fracker student John Riesen, tenor, was a semi-finalist on America’s Got Talent in a group call Metaphysic, and bass Zaikun Song sings for Houston Grand Opera, Opera Orlando, and Opera Carolina. Marc Embree student Kyle White, baritone, sings for Wolf Trap Opera, Virginia Opera, and Palm Beach Opera. Jane Bunnell’s student, soprano Jenny Ribeiro, is teaching voice at Albion College while maintaining an active performance schedule, and Anne Nispel’s student Leah Brzyski, coloratura soprano, performs regularly for several opera houses. These few from recent years are a strong indicator that the MSU Vocal Arts faculty not only support but know how to offer the right kind of support that each student needs.
“The support I received from all the faculty and staff at MSU is so heartwarming,” Major said. “At the time, they saw things in me that I didn’t see in myself and allowed me to fail and try again. MSU will always hold a special place in my heart.”
