From coast to coast, tenor Ryan MacPherson’s wonderfully resonant and heart-felt voice has garnered wide praise and acclaim. David Shengold of Opera News commended his performance as Paul Bunyan’s Slim at Central City Opera, “…Ryan MacPherson stole the show. MacPherson's keen-timbred tenor negotiated the high tessitura with grace.”

In spring of ‘06, MacPherson made his debut with Kansas City Lyric Opera as Camille in the Merry Widow, a reprise of the same production and role he performed with Opera Memphis in ’05.  The Kansas City Star praised, “Tenor Ryan MacPherson, debonair as the Frenchman Camille, demonstrated a silver-bullet upper range.”  In March of ’06, the tenor performed again with Opera Memphis as the Duke in Rigoletto, to much acclaim. Winter found MacPherson in his Carnegie Hall debut at Weil Recital Hall with Soprano Caroline Worra, sponsored by the University of Missouri-Columbia.  This May, MacPherson returns to New York City to debut with the New York City Ballet in Brahms’ Leibeslieder Walzer at the New York State Theatre.

As a part of the World’s Fair in spring of ‘05, MacPherson performed Laurie in New York City Opera’s Japan Tour of Little Women. Summer ‘05 found the tenor in his noteworthy performance as Slim in Central City’s Paul Bunyan. In the fall, MacPherson returned to New York City Opera as the love-scorned composer Flamand in Capriccio opposite Pamela Armstrong. Anthony Tommasini of the New York Times said, "The ardent tenor Ryan MacPherson is a dashing and impetuous Flamand.” Opera News online praised, "Ryan MacPherson as Flamand...sang extraordinarily well, managing the challenging tessituras with aplomb." The New York Sun called his performance, “…the highlight of the artificially created ‘first act.’”

During the ‘04-‘05 season, MacPherson became an honored recipient of the Richard F. Gold/Shoshana Foundation Career Grant. In addition, the tenor recorded twelve Charles Ives songs in association with Yale University and Naxos records, for a multi-CD compilation of the collected works of Charles Ives. Summer '04 found the tenor at Long Beach Opera in his triumphant debut with the company as Henry in Strauss’ Die Schweigsame Frau. In the fall, the tenor returned to New York City Opera as Iff the Water Genie in Haroun and the Sea of Stories, a new opera by Charles Wourinen based on the book by Salman Rushdie.

At the forefront of contemporary music, MacPherson is often sought out and recruited for new works. Anton Coppola called upon the tenor for his original opera Sacco and Vanzetti at the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center. Lower Manhattan’s Nine Circles Chamber Theatre engaged him to perform Zoschenko in Mel Marvin’s Guest from the Future, an opera based on the Russian poet Anna Akhmatova. For Works and Process at the Guggenheim as well as the Cooper Union in New York City, MacPherson performed original works by renowned composer Charles Wourinen to the contemporary poetry of Les Murray and John Ashbery.

The tenor has performed at the Kennedy Center, New York City Opera, Central City Opera, Opera Theatre of St. Louis, Opera Memphis, Opera Omaha, Toledo Opera, Long Beach Opera, Western Opera Theatre, Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center and the Metro Lyric Opera of New Jersey. He has performed at numerous summer festivals, including San Francisco Opera’s Merola Program, Santa Fe Opera’s Apprentice Program for Singers and the Aspen Music Festival. Additional performance highlights include Faust (Faust), Rodolfo (La Boheme), Ferrando (Cosi fan tutte), Don Ottavio (Don Giovanni), Rinuccio (Gianni Schicchi), Eisenstein and Alfred (Die Fledermaus), Fenton (Falstaff), Vodemon (Iolanta), Sam (Susannah) and others. Oratorio engagements include Rossini's Stabat Mater, Stravinsky's Renard, Haydn's Lord Nelson Mass, Mozart's Vesperae Solennes de Confessore and Requiem, and Handel's Ode on St. Cecilia's Day and Messiah.

MacPherson’s upcoming performances and engagements include: Ferrando in Cosi fan tutte with New York City Opera in October/November ‘06. The tenor repeats the role of Ferrando in his international debut with Opera de Nice in Nice, France in January ‘07.  In the spring of ’07, MacPherson returns to Opera Memphis as Don Jose in Carmen opposite the world renowned soprano, Kallen Esperian.

MacPherson received his Master of Music and Artist Diploma from Yale University and his Bachelors from the University of Missouri-Columbia where he was heard as Sam in Susannah and Tony in West Side Story.