Meet 2025 Emerging Artist, Ryan McDonald

Published 02 Oct, 2024

Opera on the Avalon is proud to reveal the participants of our 2025 Emerging Artist Program, designed to provide talented artists with unique opportunities to learn and grow. This program offers training, mentorship, and performance experiences, allowing emerging artists to develop their craft and make their mark in the world of opera. Through this initiative, we continue our commitment to fostering new talent and supporting the next generation of artists.

Ryan McDonald

Originally from Ktaqmkuk (Newfoundland), and the ancestral homelands of the Beothuk, Mi’kmaq, Innu & Inuit (Labrador), Ryan McDonald currently resides and performs in Tkaron:to (Toronto). An award winner from the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, Ryan has appeared as a soloist in concert with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Newfoundland Symphony Orchestra, Theatre of Early Music, Nota Bene Players, Cellar Singers, Elora Festival Singers & Symphony in the Barn. Operatic highlights from last season include Sorceress in Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas, Male Soprano/ Victim A in Du Yun’s Angel’s Bone and Miles in Britten’s Turn of The Screw.

This season will include appearances with The Toronto Consort, Thunder Bay Symphony Orchestra, Theatre of Early Music, NMC and Les Arts Florissant.

During the 21/22 season, Ryan was a Young Artist with Pacific Opera Victoria’s Civic Engagement Quartet and Confluence Concerts inaugural Young Artistic Associate. Ryan is the co-founder of OperaQ; a company focused specifically on presenting queer theatre by queer artists for queer audiences. Ryan led the company’s original composition to a nomination at the 2023 Opera America Digital Excellence in Opera Awards.

In addition to their musical activities, Ryan is currently pursuing a DMA in Historical Performance at the University of Toronto, where they are researching the life of Klaus Nomi and investigating the ever-expanding queer performance practice guide.

Our 2025 Emerging Artist Program

In 2025, Opera on the Avalon’s Emerging Artist Program will offer a rich blend of development, mentorship, and professional experience from October 2024 through June 2025. This hybrid program features monthly stipends and personalized coaching to help participants refine their skills. Additionally, participants will be given the opportunity to cover roles with our partner organizations, providing them with broader industry exposure. Participants will again collaborate with world renowned composers and librettists on new works, and then collaborating with filmmakers to create digital shorts, which will be filmed in Newfoundland. Additionally, mentorship from industry professionals and monthly seminars will provide tailored guidance to support each artist’s growth, culminating in a recital tour and project filming in May and June.

You won’t want to miss a moment of what’s to come!

Be sure to follow our social media pages and sign up for our newsletter to stay updated on all the exciting news from our 2025 Emerging Artist Program.