CENTRE COLLEGE

News release

He has graced the most prominent stages across the globe. The London Times has hailed him as “one of the brightest natural talents to have emerged from the United States in recent years.” And now, world-renowned American tenor and Metropolitan Opera veteran Gregory Turay will share his talents at Centre College as the Alltech Artist-in-Residence.  

Over the coming year, Turay will give a recital, offer vocal workshops and collaborate with Centre’s choral conductor Johann Van Niekerk. Turay will also teach an opera workshop during the three-week CentreTerm in January and collaborate with Centre Associate Professor Nathan Link, who specializes in 18th-century opera, on a team-taught course. And for a fortunate few, Turay will also offer private voice lessons.  

The appointment exemplifies not only Alltech’s on-going support of the arts but also its continuing partnership with Centre. President John A. Roush could not be more pleased.  

“Anything we do with Alltech occurs at the highest level, including our most recent partnership that brought the Vienna Philharmonic to the stage of the Norton Center for the Arts,” says Roush. “We remain grateful for Dr. and Mrs. Lyons’ vision and generosity, which benefits our students and entire campus community, not to mention the commonwealth and our region.”  

Pearse Lyons is the founder and president of Alltech and was responsible for bringing the Vienna Philharmonic and talented Venezuelan virtuoso conductor Gustavo Dudamel to Centre as part of the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games™.   “Alltech’s continuing support of such endeavors,” Roush adds, “exemplifies how successful corporations can have a direct, immediate and positive impact for good in the lives of young people. Pearse and Deirdre’s commitment to Kentucky and the region is legendary.”  

This type of support should come as no surprise. In 2012, Americans for the Arts, the nation’s leading nonprofit organization for advancing the arts and arts education, honored Alltech as one of the Top 10 Companies Supporting the Arts in America.  

A Lexington resident and alumnus of the University of Kentucky, Turay began his meteoric rise in 1995 when, at the age of 21, he won the Metropolitan Opera National Councils Auditions. After training in the Met’s Lindemann Young Artists Development Program, Turay made his Met debut in “Ariadne auf Naxos” conducted by James Levine. He has since appeared on the Metropolitan Opera stage for 10 consecutive seasons.  

Turay’s impressive resume includes engagements with notable companies like the San Francisco Opera, Deutsche Opera, Santa Fe Opera and Boston Lyric Opera, and he has also performed with leading orchestras and prominent conductors such as Seiji Ozawa.  

Since returning to Lexington, Turay has developed a long and deep relationship with Alltech through the School of Music at his alma mater. Highlights include performances at Alltech’s 25th anniversary of its presence in China and entertaining at Alltecwh’s annual dinner in Dublin, which honors members of Ireland’s diplomatic corps, including consuls general, ambassadors and other dignitaries representing more than 70 countries.   

“I anticipate that Gregory’s appointment at Centre will achieve many inspiring goals,” says Lyons. “This includes what I hope to be a greater connection between Centre and the University of Kentucky, bringing two great Kentucky institutions to a whole new level of excellence.”  

Music lovers wishing to hear Turay perform will have an opportunity on Tuesday, Oct. 25, at 7 p.m., when he offers a recital, “A Tour of America in Song,” on the stage of Newlin Hall in the Norton Center for the Arts. The recital will be open to the public.