Max Rydqvist, baritone, graduated magna cum laude with a Master of Music degree in Vocal Performance from the College of Fine Arts at Boston University (2018) and with a Bachelor of Music degree in Vocal Performance from the State University of New York at Binghamton (2016).Residing as an active freelance vocal performer in the city of Boston, Max presently engages as ensemble member and soloist with the Cantata Singers of Boston and also as a soloist/section leader at the Church on the Hill of the Boston Society of the New Jerusalem. He has recently performed with local companies and organizations such as MassOpera, Odyssey Opera Chorus, Cambridge Chamber Ensemble, Opera51 and Opera on Tap Boston.  This coming spring season he will be performing the role of Ping in Puccini’s “Turandot” with Opera51 in Concord, Massachusetts.

             Professional credits in opera include Ping in Puccini's "Turandot", Papageno in Mozart’s "Die Zauberflöte" and El Dancaïro in Bizet’s "Carmen" with Opera51, Il Barone Douphol  in Verdi’s La Traviata with MassOpera, Angelo in Wagner’s Das Liebesverbot with Cambridge Chamber Ensemble, Ambrogio  in Rossini’s Il barbiere di Siviglia with Tri-Cities Opera, and Pandolfe in a virtual rendition of Massenet’s "Cendrillon" with Due Donne Productions in Boston. Additionally, Max has performed the role of Papageno  at the Bay View Music Festival, Antonio in Mozart’s "Le nozze di Figaro" and the Golf Man in "Sweets by Kate" by contemporary composer Griffin Candey with the Opera Institute at Boston University. He has also undertaken multiple roles with the opera workshop at Binghamton University, including Betto and Marco in Puccini’s "Gianni Schicchi", Pistola in Verdi’s "Falstaff" and Peter in Humperdinck’s "Hänsel und Gretel". Max has been featured in multiple opera scenes at both universities as well.

              Beyond opera, Max is an avid art song and church singer and has participated in many recitals and concert performances during his time as a freelancer in Boston. Recent concert appearances include baritone soloist in English and Nordic Art Song Recitals with the Cantata Singers chamber series, chorus and bass soloist from Handel’s Messiah oratorio as well as baritone soloist in Brahms’ Liebeslieder Waltzer with Church on the Hill. In addition to performances with his own church, Max also regularly sings as a bass section leader and soloist with other churches in the area, including the St. Columbkille Parish in Brighton.

              A native of Stockholm, Sweden, and former resident of Norway, Max is trilingual and also holds intermediate proficiency in the German language. Being well-traveled throughout Europe, he is passionate about languages, cultures, and their eclectic application to music, particularly to the vocal traditions found in the Nordic region of the continent. Max specializes in Nordic song repertoire. As a performing artist he is endeavoring to shed more light upon this body of exclusive repertoire. He plans to host his own independent Nordic recital this year which will seek to highlight some of the most representative features of this unique category of song repertoire.

               In recent years Max has partaken in the Bay View Music Festival, the Young Artist Program of SongFest at the Colburn School of Music, and the Up North Vocal Institute in northern Michigan. In the less recent past, Max participated in the opera studio of the American Institute of Musical Studies (AIMS) in Graz, Austria as well as the Westchester Summer Vocal Institute in New York. Furthermore, he has also engaged in the Songe d’ete en Musique in Quebec where he among other things sang the bass solo from the Mozart Requiem. Throughout these programs and during his academic studies, Max has performed in a number of masterclasses featuring certain renowned figures of the field such as Sharon Sweet, Bo Skovhus, Susan Youens, and Alan Louis Smith. His primary vocal instructors remain Sharon Daniels of Boston University and Thomas Goodheart of Binghamton University.

                After several years of immersion in pedagogic study – which has included engagements in events such as the National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS) Summer Conference and the Boston Conservatory Vocal Pedagogy Workshop – Max has broadened the scope of his vocal studies over the past year beyond the art of performance to include the art of teaching. He currently teaches voice to students of all ages and levels through several different forums including At Your Door Music in Wellesley, Massachusetts, Note-worthy Experiences in Sudbury, Massachusetts and the TakeLessons platform. He also offers private lessons to individuals residing around Greater Boston. Max is fervent about exploiting both arenas of vocal knowledge – teaching and performing – for the mutual benefit of each, both for himself and for his students.  He is presently enrolled as a professional member of the Voice Foundation, and an associate member of NATS where he is a participant in the local Boston Chapter. (Please visit the “Teaching” page on this site for more information about my pedagogy and philosophies thereof.)