THE VOCAL Music program
RUTH ASAWA SCHOOL OF THE ARTS
Vocal Music AT RASOTA
The Vocal Music Program at Ruth Asawa School of the Arts is much more than a choir; it is a unique learning opportunity for students to delve into all facets of singing and music. The Vocal Music Program provides pre-professional training and college audition preparation for students desiring a career in music and a deep exploration of music as enduring appreciation for those that may pursue other careers. This involves classes that include choral ensemble singing, solo vocal training, language study, music theory training and creative music creation, and independent learning opportunities centered around the cultural exploration of music.
Students focus on their chosen art form for 10-15 hours per week for all four years of high school. Incoming students begin with the study of both jazz and classical music simultaneously and have the opportunity to specialize starting in the junior year. All students have the option to sing in multiple choirs throughout their four years of study.
Our graduates frequently continue to study music at the top music programs in the country, including Oberlin College and Conservatory, University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, University of Rochester Eastman School of Music, The California Jazz Conservatory, The Mannes School of Music in New York, Berklee College of Music, University of California Los Angeles and Santa Cruz, University of Puget Sound, and Sonoma State University.
Are you an 8th grader that loves to sing? Want to make it part of your high school experience? Learn more about joining the vocal department here and apply now!
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OUR STUDENTS
MICHAEL DESNOYERS, DIRECTOR
A passionate and active supporter of music education, Mr. Desnoyers has been the Director of Vocal Music at Ruth Asawa School of the Arts since 2019, where he conducts concert choir, chamber singers, stage directs opera, and teaches classes on vocal technique, stylistic performances, AP Music Theory, and Aural Skills 1/2. Previously, he performed with the San Francisco Opera Guild’s program Opera a la Carte for nine seasons, bringing shortened versions of popular operas to elementary and middle schools. He started at Ruth Asawa School of the Arts in 2015 as an Artist-in-Residence, leading the Clef Hangers and teaching Art Song and Opera repertoire classes, along with Diction for Singers.
Sought out for his “rich and resonant” and “sweet, well-projected lyric tenor”, Mr. Desnoyers has sung over 50 different roles across San Francisco Bay Area stages, including performances with Opera San Jose, West Bay Opera, West Edge Opera, Festival Opera, Lamplighters Music Theatre, Ars Minerva, Pocket Opera, Opera Modesto, and the Mendocino Music Festival.
Praised for “a beautifully produced, even voice whose palpable sincerity and flawless legato seemed ideally suited to Mozart,” he has performed most of the major roles in the Mozart tenor repertoire, including Belmonte in Die Entführung aus dem Serail, Tamino in Die Zauberflöte, Ferrando in Così fan tutte, and Don Ottavio in Don Giovanni, and the title role in La clemenza di Tito.
With an extensive repertoire that spans from the Baroque to the 21st Century, Mr. Desnoyers has sung a number of world premieres, including the modern world premiere of Daniele da Castrovillari’s 1662 opera La Cleopatra. In 2014, he created the role of Marcus in Giancarlo Aquilanti’s The Oxford Companions. Other favorite roles include Albert in Albert Herring, Nemorino in L’elisir d’amore, Rodolfo in La Bohème, Ramiro in La Cenerentola, Almaviva in Il barbiere di Siviglia, Frederic in The Pirates of Penzance, Sextus in Giulio Cesare, Paolino in Il matrimonio segreto, Gennaro in Lucrezia Borgia, and Eisenstein and Alfred in Die Fledermaus. He frequently performs as a concert soloist, having sung Mozart’s Requiem, Coronation Mass, and Vespere solennes; Bach’s Johannes-Passion and Matthäus-Passion; Handel’s Messiah, Orff’s Carmina Burana, Rossini’s Petite Messe Solennelle, Saint-Saëns’ Christmas Oratorio, CPE Bach’s Magnificat, and Dvorak’s Mass in D.
Mr. Desnoyers can be heard on the Lamplighters’ CD recordings, singing the roles of Cyril in Princess Ida, Ernest in The Grand Duke, Marco in The Gondoliers, and Lord Tolloller in Iolanthe, where he was praised by Opera News for his “crystal clear timbre.” Mr. Desnoyers was a member of Chautauqua Opera Young Artist program where he performed the role of Monostatos (Die Zauberflöte 2011) and covered the role of Spoletta (Tosca 2009). He has performed with many Bay Area vocal ensembles, including the San Francisco Symphony Chorus, American Bach Soloists, The Cantata Collective, Capella SF, and Gaude.
Mr. Desnoyers holds a Master of Music in Vocal Performance from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music where he studied with César Ulloa. He holds a Bachelor of Music in Music Education and Music Performance from Slippery Rock University where he studied with Dr. Colleen Gray. Mr. Desnoyers' performing website can be found at michaeldesnoyers.com
