"[Jeff] Myers’s impressive score draws from diverse contemporary styles. There are stretches of hazy, wayward chords spiked with unnerving clusters. During tense episodes, skittish orchestral lines flail wildly. Mr. Myers elicits a wide range of sounds and colors from a [26]-piece orchestra conducted by Tyson Deaton. Sometimes fraught exchanges between singers are prodded along by stubbornly repetitive instrumental riffs. Other times, thick chords cling insistently to every syllable of the sung words.[...] Mr. Soluri’s skillfully scored music was energetically conducted by Mr. Deaton."
The New York Times, Anthony Tommasini
"But a performance of an opera lives or dies by its music, and the superb conductor Tyson Deaton created magic. And he only had the few players the chamber-sized score required. Fortunately, they were drawn from the excellent ranks of the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra. It included a very large array of percussion instruments.
As with other of his fine recent pit performances in town, Deaton is always on top of the text. He perfectly aligns with all the vocal lines, even in the most complex multi-location scenes. Balance is always dead on."
Ear Relevant-- Gregory Sullivan Isaacs
"Conductor Tyson Deaton [...] certainly pulled off a performance of his own in front of the dozens of musicians. [He] created a relaxed atmosphere making even the farthest away of audience members feel close to the front of the stage. As the sun set fully, Deaton welcomed all to an evening of eclectic and traditional opera. Prior to each song, Deaton explained what was about to be seen and heard, which was much appreciated [...] here were to be stories of love, betrayal, realization, and grief."
Cultural Voice of North Carolina-- Alana Bleimann
"[At] the Brooklyn Academy of Music’s Fishman Space on Wednesday, the robust baritone Steven LaBrie and the pianist Tyson Deaton rendered the score with compelling artistry."
The New York Times-- Brian Seibert
The Albany Records release of Tom Cipullo's Glory Denied
ranked among OperaNews' "Best of the Year"
in 2014 Full-Length Opera Recordings!
"Another solid component of this first-rate recording is the remarkably full-sounding nine-piece instrumental ensemble, which gives a bravura performance under the effective leadership of conductor Tyson Deaton."
Opera News, Joshua Rosenblum,
March 2014 (Glory Denied, Albany Records)
"Cipullo’s score is complex in the extreme. The vocal writing is angular and he changes time signature and pace nearly every measure. Rhythmic patterns are irregular, but notated, making conductor Tyson Deaton’s job positively Herculean. Even worse, he is in the back of the stage, the singers are unable to see him except in tiny monitors up in the corners, and his small chamber orchestra is extruded across the back, just two abreast.
Calm, cool and confident, keeping his constantly changing but precise beat pattern within a reserved two-foot frame, the unflappable Deaton delivers a passionate and virtuoso performance by force of will."
TheaterJones-- Gregory Sullivan Isaacs
"Conductor Tyson Deaton does an impressive job of coordinating an awkwardly strung-out ensemble with singers he can see only from behind."
Dallas Morning News-- Scott Cantrell
"As a drama, Glory Denied scores on many points. [...] The music, both vocal and instrumental (a small orchestra is directed by Tyson Deaton), is another tension-generator. There is not much lyricism here, but the atmosphere is compelling."
Star-Telegram-- Olin Chism
"[Along with] the considerable musical and dramatic challenges [...] Conductor Tyson Deaton skillfully guided the quartet and the small chamber orchestra through this unfailingly energetic, often lyrical score."
FrontRow, Dallas Magazine-- Wayne Lee Gay
"Conductor Tyson Deaton gets appropriately atonal sounds from his chamber ensemble, particularly when blending flute and strings."
Garden State Journal-- Doug Strassler
"Paterson’s score [...] flowed beautifully under the watchful baton of ensemble conductor Tyson Deaton, who led the group through both productions with keen precision."
I Care if You Listen Magazine, Christian Kriegeskotte
"O’Regan’s clear, mostly atonal setting of the text was shaded by variety of textures from the American Modern Ensemble, helping to delineate the different moods and facets of Rabinowitz’s Mary. Particularly effective were the final moments of the work, when the dissonances resolved into a sonorous and beautiful harmony."
musicvstheater.com Brian Rosen
"And with the American Modern Ensemble [...] under the baton of Tyson Deaton, a special energy reverberated between singers and musicians."
Seen and Heard International, Daniele Sahr