MGS presents John & Gillian Reisen

American tenor John Riesen is consistently impressing audiences with his "impassioned...and vibrant" voice (Opera Today). John’s growing career boasts a variety of roles in which he excels and includes significant work in opera, musical theatre, studio recording, and concert. He has released over 75 studio recordings, that have reached well over 7 million streams on Spotify and Apple Music. John is also the head of Spotify promotion for Emitha LLC, building an ecosystem for classical and crossover singers to be heard around the world.  

John has performed with the Pacific Symphony, Dallas Symphony Orchestra, Buffalo Philharmonic, Williamsburg Symphony Orchestra, Phoenix Symphony Orchestra, Nashville Opera, and the Brevard Music Center Orchestra.  He also performed roles with the New York Oratorio Society, the Virginia Symphony (Anthony - Sweeney Todd),  Intermountain Opera Bozeman (Duca- Rigoletto, Rodolfo-La Boheme), and Opera Las Vegas (Daniel - A Capacity for Evil). He has also performed one of his most celebrated roles, Younger Thompson in Glory Denied with Knoxville Opera, Des Moines Metro Opera, Opera Birmingham, UrbanArias, and Opera Roanoke.

John was also seen on NBC's America's Got Talent as part of the Finalist group Metaphysic, singing "Nessun Dorma" as the voice of Howie Mandel.

Award-winning American mezzo-soprano Gillian Lynn Cotter (Riesen) is quickly impressing audiences with her strong voice and dynamic presence. Recent roles include Hansel in Hansel and Gretel with Opera Louisiane, Suzuki in Madama Butterfly with Pensacola Opera, Sister Helen Prejean in Dead Man Walking with Shreveport Opera, Vera Lynn in Another Brick in the Wall with Michigan Opera Theater, the title role in Rinaldo with Fresco Opera, and Angelica in the world premiere of A Capacity for Evil with Opera MODO.

As the founder and Creative Director of EMITHA, Gillian Riesen is passionate about helping artists to develop digital and online media that beautifully reflects their art.  EMITHA is an artist-driven production house designed to address the needs of emerging artists, brands organizations in the fast-paced digital world of video, music and design. 

John and Gillian met performing professionally in 2014, as Artists in Residence with Shreveport Opera in Louisiana. Their 2020 album "CHRISTMAS AT HOME" is available on Spotify and Apple Music.

John and Gillian will be joined by Benjamin Blozan on piano.  

Benjamin Blozan is grateful to be building a musical life centered around the piano. A long-time performer, most notably as a fixture for Greensboro Opera and area recitalist, he blends performance with entrepreneurship. Ben’s YouTube channel "Inside Pianos" aims to nurture piano owners' enthusiasm and enjoyment of their instruments by exploring recording, maintenance, musical artistry, and other piano-related topics. His "Inside Pianos Showroom" in downtown Greensboro features pianos for sale that he has restored. Ben holds a DMA in Accompanying and Chamber Music from UNCG as well as an MM in Accompanying and Opera Coaching from Temple University.  In addition to his degree work, he has attended workshops at the American Institute of Musical Studies in Graz, Austria; Académie International d’Eté de Nice; and the Académie de Villecroze.

John & Gillian Reisen, vocal duo

Friday, January 31, 2025 - 7:30 pm
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