ASL 2013: Baritone, Aaron Engebreth

AARON ENGEBRETH (baritone), acclaimed for his "exemplary diction and rich baritone voice," maintains an active solo career in opera, oratorio and recital, and has devoted considerable energy and time to the performance of new music, often collaborating with composers. Mr. Engebreth has recently been featured with groups and venues such as the American Bach Soloists, Tanglewood Music Festival, Boston Baroque, Santa Fe Pro Musica, Miami Bach Society, the Boston Early Music Festival, Musicians of the Old Post Road, the Providence Singers, Boston Modern Orchestra Project, Opera Aperta, the Melrose Symphony, the Back Bay Chorale, the Orchestra of St. Peter's and the Boston Academy of Music. He has received significant recognition for his interpretation of early music, most recently as a national finalist and place-winner in the 2002 American Bach Society/Bethlehem Bach Competition. As a 2000 fellow with the Pacific Music festival in Sapporo, Japan, Mr. Engebreth was featured in their performances of Handel's Alexander's Feast and Bach's Magnificat. He regularly appears with Emmanuel Music on their famed Bach Cantata series. Other notable solo engagements include Haydn's Creation under the baton of the late Robert Shaw and recently, the role of Lidio in Cavalli's L'Egisto under the musical direction of Martin Pearlman. Mr. Engebreth has performed extensively as a recitalist on the concert series of the Longy School of Music, Marsh Chapel at Boston University, the Boston Public Library, King's Chapel, the Old South Church of Boston where he took part in an acclaimed performance of the rarely heard AIDS Quilt Songbook, and recently with WCRB's Concerts at Copley Square, at which he appeared with Keith Lockhart, conductor of the Boston Pops performing works of Richard Rogers with Mr. Lockhart at the piano. A committed interpreter of contemporary music, Mr. Engebreth collaborates frequently with composers, most recently working in preparation with Ned Rorem on the Boston premiere of his evening-length song cycle Evidence of Things Not Seen with the Florestan Recital Project. The critically acclaimed performance, noting Mr. Engebreth's "beauty of voice and eloquence,"(Boston Globe) was repeated in June 2003 in Providence, Rhode Island as part of the Red House Festival. On the operatic stage, Mr. Engebreth has performed a variety of roles ranging from Count Almaviva in Le nozze di Figaro to Schaunard in La Boheme. His performance of Sid in the Red House Opera Group's 2002 performances of Britten's Albert Herring was described by the Boston Globe as, "nearly perfect in voice, characterization and appearance," and Opera News hailed his recent performance as Masetto in Opera Aperta's Don Giovanni as "consistently strong." Mr. Engebreth's other 2002-03 engagements include performances with the Tanglewood Music Festival, Opera Aperta, Red House Opera Group, Boston Cecilia, Santa Fe Pro Musica, Miami Bach Society, Opera Unlimited (Boston Academy of Music/Boston Modern Orchestra Project), the Providence Singers, the Rhode Island Civic Orchestra and Chorus, Back Bay Chorale and the American Bach Soloists. He also appeared as a vocal fellow at the Ravinia Music Festival's Steans Institute for Singers in August 2003. In September of 2003, Mr. Engebreth made his debut with the Handel and Haydn Society as a soloist in their production of Monteverdi's Vespers of 1610 and will also perform Ned Rorem's Santa Fe Songs with the composer at the piano with the Terezin Chamber Music Society that will culminate in the world-premiere recording of the work. Mr. Engebreth is on the music faculties of Tufts University and the Community Music Center of Boston and is a founding member and co-artistic director of the Florestan Recital Project. He is an alumnus of Viterbo College and received a Master's Degree from Boston University. He can be heard on the upcoming releases of Conrad Susa's Carols and Lullabies on Arsis Records and on Lukas Foss' Griffelkin with the Boston Modern Orchestra Project on the Chandos label.