An Evening with Ricky Ian Gordon and Melanie Helton

MSU soprano Melanie Helton joins renowned composer Ricky Ian Gordon for a narrated evening of his vivid and theatrical vocal works, including excerpts from the upcoming production of The Grapes of Wrath. Featuring faculty, student, and alumni singers, the program highlights a decades-long artistic partnership with music once praised by The New York Times as “…caviar for a world gorging on pizza.”

The entire Artist-Faculty and Guest Recital Series is sponsored by WKAR.

About guest composer Ricky Ian Gordon

Ricky Ian Gordon was born on May 15, 1956, in Oceanside, NY and raised on Long Island. After studying piano, composition, and acting at Carnegie Mellon University, he settled in New York City, where he quickly emerged as a leading writer of vocal music that spans art song, opera, and musical theater. Mr. Gordon’s songs have been performed and or recorded by such internationally renowned singers as Renee Fleming, Dawn Upshaw, Nathan Gunn, Judy Collins, Kelli O’Hara, Audra MacDonald, Kristin Chenoweth, Nicole Cabell, the late Lorraine Hunt Lieberson, Frederica Von Stade, Nadine Sierra, Andrea Marcovicci, Harolyn Blackwell, and Betty Buckley, among many others. See full bio.

Video: Ricky Ian Gordon on “Moments of Clarity”