Ethan Hardyk

Ethan Hardyk, tenor, is a junior at State College Area High School in State College, Pennsylvania. He has been part of the local performing community since eighth grade, when he performed his first major solo role as the Prince in The Little Mermaid.  Ethan has sung multiple solo works for school and community events, in churches, and in retirement homes and is a member of the Master Singers, the top choir at State High.  

In May 2020, Ethan was one of twelve finalists from nearly 1,400 contestants in the Classical Singer magazine’s Online Classical - High School division of their international vocal competition, singing Amarilli, mia bella (Giulio Caccini) as a tenor. He also received honorable mention in the 2020 Central Pennsylvania Music Teachers Association’s Phyllis Triolo Music Competition for classical instrumentalists and singers.  He was selected for All-State Choir in 2020 and participated in District Orchestra as a cellist in 2019.  

Ethan’s vocal interests currently lie in Italian music of the Baroque era, but he has also studied and performed German literature (especially Schubert) as well as songs of Henry Purcell, George Frederick Handel, Vaughan Williams, John Ireland, English Lute songs, several Neapolitan songs, and occasional selections from musical theatre.  Three years of music theory and solfeggio studies at school and recent study in piano have contributed significantly to his understanding of music.  Ethan plans to study vocal performance in college and is especially interested in opera.

Ethan has studied voice for four years with Laurel Sanders, a graduate of Ithaca College in voice who has sung and taught voice and music in Germany and the United States.  Beginning in January 2020, he has had supplemental study in voice with Laurel’s husband, Graham Sanders, a heldentenor from England who had an extensive operatic career as a soloist in Europe, Asia, South America, and the USA.