Tenor | Professor of Voice | Musicologist
Welcome...
My career in music has spanned many aspects of the discipline:
the performance of opera, oratorio, concert, and recital;
recording projects in opera, concert, and song repertoire;
writing and publishing musicology and criticism; writing opera
librettos; artistic directing; stage directing; and, teaching.
My life as an artist has been largely shaped by the music and lives
of Benjamin Britten and his partner, the tenor Peter Pears.
Likewise, the music of their contemporaries is of equal import
to me, namely Michael Tippett, Lennox Berkeley, William
Walton, and Priaulx Rainier, to name a few.
I count myself exceptionally grateful to have studied privately
with the late tenor Philip Langridge in England, whilst a
Presser Fellow. Such study also opportuned the beginnings
of my work with the great tenor Neil Mackie, CBE, with whom
I continue to work when in the UK.
It was an honor to be named a 2020-2021 U.S. Fulbright Scholar
to the United Kingdom — hosted by University of Surrey,
Guildford. My primary project for the Fulbright was the ongoing
writing of my first monograph: The Aldeburgh Festival of Music
and the Arts: A History of the Britten and Pears Era, 1948–1986
(The Boydell Press), which will be published ahead of the 75th
Aldeburgh Festival. The unfortunate cancellation of the 2020
and 2021 Aldeburgh Festivals due to the COVID-19 pandemic
has shifted the schedule of precisely when the official 75th
Festival will occur, but music-making continues in earnest in
Aldeburgh and at Snape Maltings in earnest in 2021. My original
Fulbright location was to have been London, but it was agreed that a six-month residency in Aldeburgh would be safest — all things considered — and due especially to the proximity of the Archive at Britten Pears Arts. Alas, while I was to be appearing in concerts and recitals in England, France, and Portugal, including performances of Britten’s The Company of Heaven (1937) and Haydn’s Nelsonmesse with the Bury Bach Choir at the St Edmundsbury Cathedral in Bury St Edmunds, all of these events have been postponed due to COVID-19.
I am full Professor of Music at Illinois State University where I am also an Artist Teacher of Voice. One of my great joys was serving as Director of the international fine arts conference Benjamin Britten at 100: An American Centenary Symposium (24-27 October 2013) on the campus of Illinois State University. Honoring Britten in this way, seeing thirty-three of his opuses performed, and bringing together many of the world’s leading Britten scholars to my home state remains a highlight. Our emphasis was focused solidly on collaboration – something we feel would have pleased our honoree, but is a hallmark of our community of artists at Illinois State University.
This site is primarily intended to relay my professional work as a performer, artist-teacher, and writer. But it is also a way for you, dear traveler, to reach out to me and engage in conversation about art, music, and singing.
One of my passions is learning about new and obscure song and operatic literature, as well as hearing about the most recent news in scholarship; don't hesitate to send me an e-mail or make a post.
I am a frequent performer of newly composed works, premièring and recording numerous song cycles that I either commissioned or happily, which various composers have written for me.
I'll share updates as they happen.
Stay in touch on these pages...
Warm good wishes,
Tenor | Opera Singer | Musicologist | Britten Specialist | Recital Artist | British Music Researcher | Voice Professor
