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The American tenor, Blake C. Beckemeyer, obtained his Bachelor of Music degree in Vocal Performance and his Bachelor of Arts degree in Mathematics (summa) from DePauw University (August 2013-May 2018), where he studied with Caroline Smith. He is in his Master of Music degree in Early Music Voice at Indiana University Bloomington's Jacobs School of Music (since 2019; expected graduation in 2021), studying with Steven Rickards. As a scholar, he was a finalist for the Ferid Murad Medal, DePauw University’s highest academic honor for a graduating student and has been inducted into Phi Beta Kappa and Pi Kappa Lambda. He also finished a thesis examining the construction of Bach Passion recitatives through the Honors Scholar Program there.
Blake Beckemeyer specializes in performances of J.S. Bach and his contemporaries of the high Baroque in historically-informed performance. He will make his much-anticipated debut as the Evangelist and aria singer for J.S. Bach's Johannes-Passion (BWV 245) with Indianapolis Baroque Orchestra in 2021. This spring (February 2020), he looks forward to singing BWV 38 in the Bloomington Bach Cantata Project, making the North-American premiere of Alessandro Scarlatti’s Oratoria per la Sanctissima Trinità, and sing as concertist with Alchemy Viols in Dietrich Buxtehude's Membra Jesu nostri at Christ Church Cathedral. In April, he will present Indiana University’s first historically-informed performance of Die Schöne Müllerin. He will also be making appearances as ripienist for Alchemy Viol’s Charpentier mass project, directed by Dana Marsh, as well as at Christ Church Cathedral on a rostered basis. He will also debut with GRAMMY®-nominated ensemble Seraphic Fire in December.
In the fall, Blake Beckemeyer r travelled to Germany to make a Sony Records/Deutsche Harmonia Mundi recording with Vox Orchester of George Frideric Handel’s Alexander’s Feast as a chorister and directed a presentation of the Bloomington Bach Cantata Project. In December, he sang as a concertist in G.F. Handel's Messiah with the Indianapolis Baroque Orchestra and Beecher Singers as well as a concertist in Girolamo Frescobaldi Missa l’aria sopra Firenze directed by Nigel North. During this time, he has become a rostered singer at Air Borne group of Zionsville, making recordings for numerous publishers including Lorenz and Hal Leonard.
In 2018-2019 season, Blake Beckemeyer appeared as First Hermit in the Paulus opera The Three Hermits, conducted by Walter Huff and made his debut at the Indianapolis Early Music Festival. He travelled to be a chorister with Border CrosSing and the Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra in performances of the Golijov oratorio La Pasión según San Marcos. He also appeared as soloist with the Bloomington Bach Cantata Project, in J.S. Bach's Magnificat (BWV 243) at Christ Church Cathedral and the Heinrich Schütz' Weihnachthistorie as Evangelist with Concentus, Nireno in Giulio Cesare with Indiana University Opera Theatre in February and made his debut at the Bloomington Early Music Festival in a scene project of Torrejón y Velasco’s opera La Púrpura de la Rosa. He has also sang at the Charlotte Bach Akademie’s inaugural Bach Festival, the Oregon Bach Festival chorus, projects with Helmuth Rilling in Germany (July 2018). He also performed with the DePauw Symphony Orchestra as a winner of the annual Concerto Competition the aria and recitative from BWV 65.
On the operatic stage, Blake Beckemeyer specializes in comedy and historical performance. In October he sang his first performance of Marco in Gilbert & Sullivan’s The Gondoliers. He has sang Basilio in W.A. Mozart's Le Nozze di Figaro multiple times; other roles include Laurie in Little Women, Abraham in Street Scene, Grimoaldo/Rodelinda, and a staging of Purcell’s King Arthur.
Blake Beckemeyer has worked as Independent Contractor at Canterbury House (Indiana University) (September 2018-May 2019); Tenor Section Leader at Columbus Indiana Philharmonic Chorus (September 2018-Mar 2020); Contracted Singer at Air Born Group in Zionsville, Indiana (December 2019-March 2020); Independent Contractor at Christ Church Cathedral in Indianapolis (since August 2018); Mathematics Tutor at Bloomington Tutors (since August 2018); Jr. Underwriter Manager at AmeriSave Mortgage Corporation (since August 2020). |
