Biography
“Captivating with [her] vocal power and lush sound” (W. Kromash, Evanston Roundtable), young mezzo soprano Grace Ryan is a national award winning artist, hailing originally from Chicago. She is pursuing her Masters of Music in Voice Performance at the University of Michigan’s School of Music, Theatre, and Dance, studying with acclaimed tenor Stanford Olsen. Within her first year of studies at Michigan, she has been featured in leading roles in both mainstage and chamber opera productions, as Hänsel in Hänsel und Gretel (Humperdink) and Dorabella in Così fan tutte (Mozart), respectively. She premiered the role of Dharuna in Siddhartha, She (Theofanidis) in the University of Michigan’s OperaLab workshop of the new piece, and was the featured mezzo soloist in the University of Michigan Chamber Choir’s Duruflé Requiem and Lauda per la Natividad del Signore (Respighi). She will sing her first Carmen this fall in the University of Michigan’s chamber production of La Tragédie de Carmen.
She received her degrees in Vocal Performance and Music Education at DePaul University in Chicago in 2024, where she studied with tenor Scott Ramsay. Within her undergraduate career, she performed extensively with DePaul Opera Theatre, as Nancy in Albert Herring (Britten), Presendia in Dark Sisters (Muhly), and Emma Jones in Street Scene (Weill). She was regularly featured as a soloist with DePaul Chamber Choir, DePaul Symphonic Orchestra, and the DePaul Baroque Ensemble. She also cross-trained in vocal jazz, singing with the DePaul Vocal Jazz ensemble. In the Chicagoland operetta scene, Grace performed as Tessa in The Gondoliers with the Savoyaires and in the chorus of H.M.S. Pinafore with the Gilbert & Sullivan Opera Company.
Most recently, Grace was awarded second place in the Emerging Artist division of the Classical Singer National Vocal Competition. She was the first place recipient of the Charlotte Ruppel Memorial Voice Awards, the grand prize winner of Opera Grand Rapids’ Vanderlaan Prize and the first place recipient of Fox Valley Orchestra Voice Competition. She also was honored to receive an Encouragement Award in the Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition in the Illinois district in 2023.
Grace is thrilled to be a Summer Studio Artist with Florentine Opera this summer in Milwaukee, making her professional mainstage debut singing the role of Justice Ruth Bader-Ginsburg in Scalia/Ginsburg (Wang).
Outside of the world of opera, Grace has a strong background in musical theatre and dance, and has a passion for education and sharing the fine arts with the next generation.
When she is not singing, she’s caring for her puppy Cannoli, dancing to ABBA music, or fighting to keep her 1,000+ day Duolingo streak alive.
