Dr. Tyler Young, tenor, began his musical career as a church pianist at the age of 17. He continued to serve as Director of Music and Organist for various congregations for over 17 years. His work as a musician extends beyond the church walls. He taught chorus and general music in the public school system. He also served as a voice instructor at Catawba Valley Community College while maintaining a private vocal and piano studio. Young was honored to serve for 3 consecutive years as Music Director for America’s longest-running outdoor Revolutionary War drama, Horn in the West. He served as Voice Instructor and Director of Opera Workshop at Cleveland State University and currently serves as Visiting Assistant Professor of Voice and Director of Opera Workshop at Appalachian State University. Young has a varied background with experience in opera, oratorio, and musical theater. His operatic credits include Monostatos in Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte, Frederic in Gilbert and Sullivan’s Pirates of Penzance, Gastone in Verdi’s La Traviata, Sam Kaplan in Weill’s Street Scene, and Ferrando in Mozart’s Così Fan Tutte. He also performed the role of Ferrando in the American Singers Opera Project presentation of Così in Winston-Salem, NC. Oratorio and concert performances include a world premiere of Bristow’s Mass in C, Schubert’s Mass in G, Handel’s Messiah, Mendelssohn’s Elijah, Bach’s Magnificat, Dubois’ The Seven Last Words of Christ, Saint-Saens’ Christmas Oratorio, and a performance of Rogers and Hammerstein tunes with the Brevard Philharmonic. Young spent the summer of 2012 at the American Institute of Musical Studies in Graz, Austria where he performed in numerous opera, operetta, musical theater, and art song concerts. He received his Bachelor of Music in Music Education and Master of Music in Vocal Performance from Appalachian State University. He received a Doctorate of Musical Arts in Vocal Performance from the Cleveland Institute of Music. While attending CIM, he was awarded with the Italian American Cultural Foundation Italian Art Song Award and the Elizabeth Stevens Prize in Lieder for his performance of Schubert’s Die schöne Müllerin.