About
Brian von Rueden is a classically trained singer, director, administrator, and writer whose work spans the worlds of music, literature, and community building. Born in central Wisconsin and long based in Chicago before settling with his family in Dresden, Germany, he earned degrees from Valparaiso University, Roosevelt University, and National Louis University, and performed repertoire from early music to romantic art song to contemporary cabaret throughout North America and Europe.
As Artistic Director of VOX 3 Collective, he helped promote the idea of “storefront opera” — serious music offered in everyday spaces. He has appeared with Porchlight Music Theatre, Millennium Chamber Players, Ars Musica Chicago, and the Chicago Bach Ensemble, performing baritone solos in Elijah, Messiah, and Christmas Oratorio. His opera roles range from Figaro and Almaviva to Tchelio, Tarquinius, Vuzzachio in Cimarosa’s L’infedeltà fedele, Louis in Holst’s Wandering Scholar, and the Master of Ceremonies in Nielsen’s Maskarade. Directing credits span Shakespeare, Molière, Mozart, Britten, Hoiby, and Rorem; his compositions are featured on the VOX 3 albums New Song, Spirit Within, and In Paradisum.
Beyond the stage, von Rueden spent a decade working at Chicago’s largest children’s hospital, an experience that deepened his understanding of resilience and empathy—qualities that continue to shape his approach to people and his writing for children. He also served on the board of Chicago’s DANK Haus German American Cultural Center, curating programs and fundraisers that celebrated the city’s cultural heritage and diversity. In Dresden, he has sung with the Sinfoniechor der Sächsischen Staatsoper Dresden and the Kammerchor der Frauenkirche Dresden, and can be heard on the latter’s recordings of Bach’s St. Matthew Passion and Cherubini’s Requiem.
He now lives in Saxony with his husband and son, exploring the region’s castles, abbey ruins, forests, and sandstone mountains. Between his work in academic research administration and his creative projects in music and literature, he continues to seek stories that celebrate connection, imagination, and belonging. When not writing or rehearsing, he can often be found in his Kleingarten north of the Elbe—tending vegetables, coaxing flowers to grow, and keeping both soil and ideas well cultivated.
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SHORT BIO
Brian von Rueden was born in Wausau, Wisconsin, and lived for many years in Chicago before resettling in Dresden, Germany. A classically trained singer, director, and occasional composer, he now works in academic research administration, fostering communities built on creativity, diversity, and empathy. As the adoptive father of a neurodivergent child, he began writing the stories he couldn’t find — ones that embrace difference, resilience, and belonging.
Location
dresden, germany
Phone
(+49) 0176 4382 5280
brian@brianvonrueden.com