Dylon Crain
Tenor
Dylon Crain, tenor, a native of Louisville, Kentucky, is a versatile performer equally at home on the operatic stage, the concert platform, and in contemporary music. He has maintained a longstanding relationship with Kentucky Opera, appearing in more than twenty productions as both an ensemble member and comprimario, with roles including Postiglione in La fanciulla del West, the Newspaper Collector in A Streetcar Named Desire, the Younger Brother in Dead Man Walking, and Gastone des Letorièresin La traviata. As an Associate Artist with the company, he also co-presented the educational program The Science of Singing for K–12 students in Jefferson County.
Crain’s recent performances include Actor 1 in All Is Calm with Kentucky Opera and Harlekin in Der Kaiser von Atlantis with the Louisville Orchestra. He previously appeared with Opera Maine, where he performed the role of Paul in Gareth Williams’ Rocking Horse Winner and covered Don Ramiro in La Cenerentola. Additional operatic credits include Tamino in Die Zauberflöte, Don Ottavio in Don Giovanni, Ernesto in Don Pasquale, Martin in The Tender Land, and Don Basilio/Don Curzio in Le nozze di Figaro, among others.
A sought-after concert soloist, Crain is frequently heard as the Swan in Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana and has performed major works including J. S. Bach’s Weihnachtsoratorium, Mozart’s Requiem, and Handel’s Messiah with groups such as the Paducah Symphony Orchestra, the Johnson City Symphony Orchestra, the Northeastern Pennsylvania Symphony, the Lexington Symphony, the Louisville Orchestra, and more. He has appeared as a soloist with ensembles such as the Artefact Ensemble, Louisville Chamber Choir, Bourbon Baroque, Kentucky Bach Choir, and the Louisville Master Chorale. As a member of the Cardinal Singers, he has performed internationally and helped earn top honors at festivals including the Singapore International Choral Festival, the International Choir Competition Zadar, and the Harmonie Festival Lindenholzhausen.
A passionate advocate for new music, Crain has collaborated with leading composers including Kaija Saariaho, Brett Dean, Bent Sørensen, Carlos Sanchez-Gutierrez, and David Dzubay through his work with the New Music Ensemble at the University of Louisville. He has commissioned and premiered works by composers such as James May, Cullyn Murphy, Angel Gómez Ramirez, Alex Berko, and Brittany Green, and regularly presents new American art songs in recital. He also participated in the workshop and premiere of Paul Moravec and Mark Campbell’s A Nation of Others, helping to create the role of Tomasso.
Crain was featured as the tenor soloist in Mammoth, a new work by Teddy Abrams performed by the Louisville Orchestra alongside Yo-Yo Ma and Davóne Tines as part of Ma’s Our Common Nature series. Performed within Mammoth Cave itself, the cantata explores the history of Kentucky’s only national park through texts by Robert Penn Warren, Wendell Berry, and Ada Limón. As the tenor soloist, Crain performed an orchestrated ballad of Floyd Collins, bringing to life one of the cave’s most storied and haunting figures.
In addition to his performing career, Crain is a dedicated educator. He earned his Master of Music in Vocal Performance from the University of Kentucky, where he served as a Graduate Teaching Assistant in voice and art song literature. He has held teaching positions at Berea College and the Leeds Theatre in Winchester, Kentucky, and maintains a private voice studio in Kentucky. His students have gone on to careers in music education and professional performance, including national touring productions. Crain spent his early years as the lead singer of the band The Thunder Crickets and is comfortable teaching styles including rock n’ roll, folk, and musical theatre.
Crain resides in Lexington, Kentucky, with his wife, Dr. Paige Crain, a collaborative pianist with whom he frequently performs in recital. They share their home with a large dog named Frank. Outside of music, he was a certified nurseryman and planted more than 200 trees across Kentucky, and he maintains a small collection of English-language poetry.
