Ross Driedger

Musician/Actor

London, Ontario, Canada
ross (at) earz (dot) ca

Music

My first passion was and is music. I grew up in a musical family where my mother was the town piano teacher and my father conducted high school choirs. One of my first moments understanding the power of music is when, as a young child, I was taken to a concert by the National Youth Orchestra of Canada. The major work on the programme was Mahler's Symphony #1. It is not normally expected for children to feel affinity with Mahler's music, but in this case the connection was strongly made.

As a child, I studied piano and bassoon, and I sang in choirs and played in youth orchestras. I did dabble in composition but nothing survived from my output.

My first post high-school education is a B. Mus. from the University of Saskatchewan. My concentrations were Music Theory, Composition, Voice Performance and Bassoon. During this time I was 2nd Bassoon in the Saskatoon Symphony Orchestra. After receiving my degree, I moved to Toronto to explore the possibilities of opera.

During this time, I began studying at the Banff Center School of Fine Arts in the summer Opera Program. It is there that met the most influential voice teacher of my training, Seth Riggs. For a number of years, I traveled between Toronto, Banff and Los Angeles to study with Seth.

Theatre

In 1983 I was accepted as a student in the Music Theatre Studio Ensemble of the Banff Centre, under the direction of Michael Bawtree. This was an intensive two year program of study into all aspects of singing/acting: voice, acting, dance and movement.

From 1985 to 1988, I worked as a singer/actor in Canada. Credits include The Canadian Opera Company, Tapestry Music Theatre and The Shaw Festival, where I was in the ensemble for the 1987 season.