Gifted with a beautiful, powerful, classically trained voice, American singer John
Riesen straddles the line between Opera and Popular music with ease. Originally
inspired by the voices of Josh Groban and Michael Buble, John pursued a career as
an operatic tenor where he performed more than 40 leading roles with opera and
musical theater companies throughout the United States including Atlanta Opera,
Michigan Opera Theatre, Des Moines Metro Opera, Anchorage Opera, Opera
Birmingham, Opera Columbus, Shreveport Opera, Pensacola Opera, Intermountain
Opera Bozeman, Tri-Cities Opera, Ithaca Opera, among others.
Recently John was seen in his Lincoln Center debut as the voice of Tony in Leonard
Bernstein’s West Side Story Suite as well as the tenor soloist in Stravinsky's Les
Noces with the New York City Ballet, and tenor soloist in Rachmaninoff's Vespers
with the NY Oratorio Society. He will be making his Carnegie Hall Debut as Tenor
Soloist in the Messiah December 2021.
Seen most recently in classical crossover collaboration with Emmy-Nominated
pianist-composer and PBS TV star Marina Arsenijevic singing new arrangements of
Crossover standards by Frank Sinatra, Michael Bublé, Tom Jones and many others.
This touching, heartfelt song was written 20 years ago by my father, Craig Riesen, for the
passing of his mother (my grandmother). I recall its conception vividly. My father had written
a letter saying many of the things he'd wished to say to her (as we knew she was dying from
cancer), and soon after she passed away. He was heartbroken.
I remember him sitting in the living room, with tears rolling down his face as he began to play
this simple, sweet, and longing melody. Soon, words came flowing out with the tune, and this
song was created. At the time, I could not sing. I was still an avid baseball player, but as the
years passed and my vocal talents became apparent the song was passed from my father to
me.
I get chills to this day, recalling how it felt to say goodbye with song. Needless to say,
You're The Best; has been an important part of my life for many years, and I believe that it
can touch other people in the same way that it has touched my heart. We all have
experienced loss or nostalgia for our loved ones, and this piece pulls at those strings.
Originally composed for piano and voice, we have expanded the instrumentation to add solo
violin, electric bass, slight percussion, and synth to fill out the texture. It is a truly special
song.
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