Comments on: Great Performances: The lesson we can learn from the life of Ryan Smith (1976 — 2008) Tenor

By: Literary Nobody

Literary Nobody — Sun, 12 Dec 2010 06:12:00 +0000

Thank you so much for your heartfelt comment Ken and Anita. It is so amazing how many people are touched by his performance as well. It was extremely inspiring and also a honor for his father to read the post and know what a positive effect Ryan’s spirit had on others. He truly gave the performance of a lifetime and accomplished what many do not even do in a long career: Leave a lasting impression on so many people as a person and as a performer.

By: ken and anita

ken and anita — Sun, 12 Dec 2010 02:08:00 +0000

We just finished watching the same documentary and we were also rooting for Ryan the whole way because we loved his brilliant singing, his rich voice, his ready ability to give his emotion through his work to us and of course his personal story– we were devastated when we read that he died as we were looking forward to hearing him sing in person.
We are mourning his loss and wish there was a way to celebrate his life. I am glad that his father was able to see your posting. I want to say to him that we are deeply sorry for your loss and ours. He was such a beautiful person too, so generous and sweet. Many many others will want to hear Ryan’s singing and we hope that there will be some way for that to happen.
Ken and Anita

By: Literary Nobody

Literary Nobody — Mon, 06 Sep 2010 13:45:00 +0000

Thank you so much for the comment Syliast. Ryan’s story really is so inspiring to so many people. Every time the documentary airs I get a flood of visits from people wanting to know more about him. I am so glad I am able to share my perspective on how his life effected me.

By: Syliast

Syliast — Mon, 06 Sep 2010 00:17:00 +0000

I just watched the PBS documentary on the opera finals. I also found myself cheering for Ryan Smith and was sad to read that he died. He is a lesson to us all. No matter how bad things are, continue to live life, do those you want and aspire to bring something positive into others life. I found this site while wanting to know more abouth this young man and what else he had done before his life. Thank you for this article.

By: Literary Nobody

Literary Nobody — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 23:36:00 +0000

I am so honored by you reading my post about Ryan. He did touch my family and I very much and even inspired me to pursue with all my energy what I love and not to give up. He was extraordinarily talented and I am so happy to have witnessed such a positive time in his life. I extend to you and your family my sincerest condolences at the loss of such a special person.

By: Paul Smith

Paul Smith — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 21:32:00 +0000

Hello Toya … I am Ryan’s father. Thank you for the tribute to my son. I see that he has been an inspiration to you as he was to us throughout his brilliant and challenging life.

By: WP Themes

WP Themes — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 18:20:05 +0000

Nice brief and this fill someone in on helped me alot in my college assignement. Gratefulness you on your information.

By: Literary Nobody

Literary Nobody — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 01:08:00 +0000

I agree Christa. I think we take for granted the important things but we really need to keep in perspective like he did. His singing was important to him and he used his time to further that. We have to use our time so wisely. I really loved his story. Thanks for the great comment. (Sorry about the late reply ..I was away)

By: Christa

Christa — Sun, 01 Aug 2010 14:02:00 +0000

Thanks for this post. It just made it clear again what's important in life. I have so many friends who have ideas about what they "really" want to do with their lives: "I'll write that novel when I'm retired." "I'll record another CD when I have more money." "I'll spend time with my mother/husband/children when this "important" job is finished." Well, that "I will" or "I shall" may never come, guys! Do it now. Make time every day, even if it's just half an hour, for that one thing that's really important, that gives your life meaning. Thanks for sharing.

By: Literary Nobody

Literary Nobody — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 01:57:15 +0000

Visited your site http://fsarts.org/ by the way. Love what you do. Thank you for keeping the arts in the forefront especially where it matters most-with our children.

By: Literary Nobody

Literary Nobody — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 01:57:08 +0000

Thank you for the comment Skylark. It has been a couple months since my family and I saw the show and he still impacts us. He seemed to be such a humble man who just loved music. I loved his “Mama I won” too. We were in tears when we found out he had died. What a tragic end to a beautiful success story. Glad we still have his music to remember him by.

By: Skylark

Skylark — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 19:35:28 +0000

A friend and I watched the same documentary last night. We were enthralled by Ryan’s singing and cheered for him above all the others. In addition to his beautiful voice, his singing showed a maturity of expression and compassion beyond his years. I loved his simple “Mama, I won.” as he called his mother on his cell phone after the competition. As you, we had hoped to hear him live and were shocked to see the “in memoriam” at the end. What an example of following your dreams!! May we all have the courage and trust to do the same.

By: Literary Nobody

Literary Nobody — Sun, 18 Jul 2010 00:42:03 +0000

Thank you for the read. His story really touched and aspired me. Helped me to really put in perspective how short life is and we need to work at our passions.

By: Geek.Girl.Wife

Geek.Girl.Wife — Sun, 18 Jul 2010 00:18:04 +0000

Thank you for sharing this inspiring, if tragic, story. This man was an inspiration to us all.

By: Serenity, The Geek.Girl.Wife

Serenity, The Geek.Girl.Wife — Sat, 17 Jul 2010 19:16:00 +0000

Wow — thank you for sharing this. It really puts things in perspective, definitely. What na amazing and inspiring, if sad, story.

By: Miss Sara

Miss Sara — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 10:43:38 +0000

You’re right… THAT is reality. Life is short, sometimes shorter than we anticipated for this very reason, we need to pursue our LIFE w/ everything we have… (we need to live, not merely exist) so that we can accomplish our goals and leave our mark as Ryan did. Thanks for sharing!

By: Miss Sara

Miss Sara — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 05:43:38 +0000

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By: » Killing me softly with his song: The life and death of Bassist Dewey Tucker Tales of a Literary Nobody

Fri, 19 Mar 2010 14:43:47 +0000

[…] [Translate] I found this post very hard to write. I don’t think that other than the story of Opera tenor Ryan Smith have I been so affected by the story of a musician that sadly I was only introduced to after […]