Ryan Turner

  • Lecturer in Music
  • Director of Vocal Ensembles
Email
rlturner@mit.edu
Office
W18-3313
Phone
(617) 253-3210

Ryan Turner is Director of Vocal Ensembles at MIT where he is conductor of the MIT Concert Choir and Chamber Chorus. Raised in El Paso, Texas, Turner holds degrees from Southern Methodist University and the Boston Conservatory.

Hailed as “powerfully expressive” (Boston Classical Review), an “effervescent” conductor of “finesse” (Boston Globe) and a “thinking man’s conductor” (Boston Musical Intelligencer), Turner stands alone for his masterful interpretations of Bach, Stravinsky, Mendelssohn, Britten, and Harbison. Now in his fourteenth season as Artistic Director of Emmanuel Music in Boston, Turner has established himself as a sterling conductor and innovative programmer. Praising his performance of John Harbison’s The Great Gatsby, critics remarked on his “supple, even liquid shaping of phrase, impeccable technique, and truly refreshing communication of the intimacy of ensemble playing.”

Passionate and assiduously fluent in the music of Bach, Turner has conducted the entire cycle of 200 sacred Bach cantatas, as well as the complete masterworks of Bach: St. John Passion, St. Matthew Passion, his own reconstruction of the St. Mark Passion, Mass in B minor and Christmas Oratorio, and the complete Orchestral Suites. In addition, he has led major works by Stravinsky, Mozart, Handel, Britten, and Harbison. A champion of new music, Turner has programmed and premiered the works of composers John Harbison, Matthew Aucoin, James Primosch, Jonathan Bailey Holland, Kati Agócs, Julian Grant, Damien Geter, Zanaida Robles, Yehudi Wyner, Elena Ruehr, and Omar Najmi, including 15 commissions for Emmanuel Music.

As an opera conductor, Turner recently led acclaimed performances with the Boston Lyric Opera of Frank Martin’s Le Vin herbé and Philip Glass’s In the Penal Colony. At the helm of Emmanuel Music, he has conducted Stravinsky’s Rake’s Progress, Harbison’s The Great Gatsby, Britten’s The Beggar’s Opera, Mozart’s La Clemenza di Tito, Die Enthführung aus dem Serail, and Apollo et Hyacinthus, Handel’s Susanna, La Resurrezione, and Apollo e Dafne, Weill’s The Seven Deadly Sins, and Sondheim’s A Little Night Music.

In addition to his work as a conductor, Turner has appeared as tenor soloist in oratorio, recital, and opera. Some highlights include performances with the Mark Morris Dance Group in Handel’s L’Allegro, il Penseroso ed il Moderato, six seasons with the Carmel Bach Festival, and fifteen years as tenor soloist with Emmanuel Music. He made his Carnegie Hall debut as the tenor soloist in Handel’s Messiah in 2008, with a return in 2016. His discography includes Bach’s BWV 76 with Emmanuel Music, Praetorius’ Christmas Vespers with Apollo’s Fire, and Kapsberger Apotheosis with Ensemble Abendmusik.

Previous posts include Musical Director of Opera and Voice and Historical Performance faculty at the Longy School of Music of Bard College, music faculty at Boston University, and Music Director of the Newburyport Choral Society. He has also been Director of Choral Activities at Phillips Exeter Academy, Music Director of the Concord Chorale and Chamber Orchestra, Assistant Director of Choral Activities at the University of Rhode Island, and Music Director of the Concord Chorus.

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