James N Kryshak (tenor) native to Baldwinsville, NY graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in both Music (Applied Voice) and German from Elmhurst College, Elmhurst, Illinois. He has studied many genres of vocal music including; Classical, Operatic, Musical Theater, and Vocal Jazz. His choral experience includes: Syracuse Children’s Chorus, Syracuse Vocal Ensemble, First Congregational United Church of Christ (soloist/section leader: Elmhurst, IL), Christ Presbyterian Church (soloist/section leader: Madison, WI), as well as the Elmhurst College Concert Choir and Chamber Singers. In April 2006 James was heard in Prague, Czech Republic with the Chicago Children’s Choir and the Chicago Sinfonietta as the Tenor soloist in Leonard Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms. James has also been featured as the Tenor Soloist in Mozart’s Requiem (UW Choral Union and Chamber Orchestra), Rossini’s Petite Messe Solennelle (Beloit Masters Singers), and Carl Maria von Weber’s Mass in G (UW Chorale).
Musical Theater roles include: The Leading Player (Pippin!); Sky Masterson (Guys and Dolls); Fagin (Oliver); Dickon (Secret Garden); Narrator and Old Man (Into the Woods); Prince Charming (Cinderella); Tin Man (The Wiz).
Opera roles include: Pelléas (Pelléas et Mélisande); Ernesto (Don Pasquale); Don Ottavio (Don Giovanni), and Tamino (Die Zauberflöte).
In 2004-05 James studied in Vienna, Austria under the direction of Michèle Friedman (University of Vienna, Vienna Conservatory). He received a grant in 2006 to return to Vienna in order to continue study with Ms. Friedman.
In the summer of 2006, James attended the Tyrolean Opera Program under the direction of Ms. Elizabeth Bachman. While at TOP Opera, James studied with Julia Faulkner (Vienna Staatsoper, The Metropolitan Opera, University of Wisconsin Madison). James was a Finalist in the Ferrucio Tagliavini International Vocal Competition in Deutschlandsberg, Austria (April 2005) as well as a Semi-Finalist in the Klassik Mania Competition in Vienna (July 2005).
Currently he is seeking a Masters of Music Degree in Opera Performance at the University of Wisconsin Madison where he continues vocal study with Julia Faulkner.
