Tyley Ross

Tyley Ross is a Canadian actor, recording artist, and voice educator based in New York City. A winner of the Dora Award and a Grammy nominee, Ross has built a career spanning musical theater, rock music, television, and vocal pedagogy across North America and internationally.

Ross began his professional life as a street busker before expanding into cartoon voice work, rock performance, and screen acting. A pivotal moment came in 1994 when Pete Townshend discovered him and cast him in the title role of the Canadian premiere of The Who's Tommy. That performance earned Ross the 1995 Dora Award for Outstanding Performance in a Musical. He received a second Dora nomination in 2004 for his portrayal of Jamie in The Last Five Years. An additional award nomination came in 1998, when he was recognized with a Jessie Award nomination for Outstanding Actor in a Leading Role for his work in Joey Shine.

Over the following decade, Ross performed at major theatrical venues throughout North America. At the Stratford Festival he played Tony in West Side Story, and at the Shaw Festival he appeared as Franklin in Merrily We Roll Along. His Broadway credits, spanning 1991 to 2015, include Chris in Miss Saigon and a role in Finding Neverland. During this same period he wrote and recorded two albums of original music — Treading Water in 1997 and a self-titled release in 1999 — and performed as a guest soloist with orchestras in both Canada and the United States. In 1999 he also provided the singing voice of Manic in the animated television series Sonic Underground.

In 2004, Ross co-founded the East Village Opera Company, a genre-defying ensemble signed to Decca/Universal. He served as the group's male lead singer for six years, during which the band released three albums: La Donna in 2004, the self-titled East Village Opera Company in 2005, and Olde School in 2008. The latter earned Ross a Grammy nomination for Best Classical Crossover Album in 2009. The company toured worldwide and appeared on numerous television broadcasts, including the 2008 Miss USA Pageant on NBC and two PBS specials — a live concert recorded in Saint Louis and Remember Me, a multidisciplinary production Ross co-created with choreographer David Parsons.

Ross holds a Master's Degree in Voice Studies from the University of London's Central School of Speech and Drama, an Advanced Certificate in Vocal Pedagogy from New York University, and a Vocology Certificate from the University of Iowa and the University of Utah. He currently serves as an adjunct instructor of voice at NYU's Tisch and Steinhardt schools and has led voice workshops in Canada, Mexico, the United Kingdom, South Korea, and across the United States. He is a member of the New York Singing Teachers' Association, the National Association of Teachers of Singing, the Voice and Speech Trainers Association, SAG/AFTRA, and Actors' Equity Association.