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The American counter-tenor, Cody Bowers, grew up with a love of music and singing. He found his counter-tenor voice with The Spivey Hall Children’s Choir based out of Atlanta, Georgia, and committed to collegiate study at Shorter College in Rome, Georgia. In 2012, after the implementation of anti-LGBT policies at Shorter, he transferred to the College-Conservatory of Music (CCM) at the University of Cincinnati where he completed his undergraduate study of music under the tutelage of William McGraw in 2015 with Bachelor of Music degree in Voice Performance. During his time at CCM, he performed a number of operatic roles with various opera companies including Ottone in L’incoronazione di Poppea with Opera Neo in San Diego, California, and with CCM Opera: L’Enfant in L’Enfant et Les Sortilèges and Roane Heckle in Jake Heggie’s newest opera Great Scott. During his studies there, he was also professional chorister at Christ Church Cathedral, Cincinnati (August 2012-May 2015).
In addition to his work on the operatic stage, Cody Bowers is an active performer of choral and chamber music, and has been featured with groups like Collegium Cincinnati, VAE: Vocal Arts Ensemble • Cincinnati’s premier choral ensemble (September 2014-March 2015), and Bach Society Houston (Director: Rick Erickson; 2014-2017). With these groups he has performed works like Mass in G Minor by Ralph Vaughan Williams, Petite Messe Solenelle by Rossini, In Ecclessis by Gabrielli, Membra Jesu Nostri by Dietrich Buxtehude, and J.S. Bach's Johannes-Passion, BWV 245.
In the Fall of 2015, Cody Bowers began his graduate study of music at the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University in Houston, Texas as the Rita C. Handley Bollinger ’38 Endowed Scholar of Voice. He is the first counter-tenor in the history of Rice University to be accepted into the opera program at Rice where he performed the role of Oberon in Benjamin Britten's A Midsummer Night’s Dream. He looks forward to returning to the stage as Tolomeo in The Rice University 2017 production of Giulio Cesare in Egitto by George Frideric Handel. He graduated with Master of Music degree in Voice Performance in May 2017. He was also on staff at Rice University as a Speech Coach for faculty and other members of the Rice community who are seeking to better their skills in oratorio. During his studies there, he was also Staff Singer at St. Martin's Episcopal Church in Houston, Texas (2015-2017).
In the summer of 2017, Cody Bowers joined Bach Society Houston in Leipzig, Germany for the internationally acclaimed Bachfest Leipzig which is widely known as the world’s largest musical festival devoted to the music of J.S. Bach and his contemporaries. After returning to the USA, he made his debut with Pittsburg Opera Festival in Pittsburgh, Pensylvania where he performed the role of Arsamene in G.F. Handel's Xerxes. In the fall of 2017, he began doctoral studies at the New England Conservatory of music where he hopes to earn the degree Doctor of Musical Arts in Voice Performance and Vocal Pedagogy. He is also Chorister at Church of the Advent in Boston, Massachusetts (since 2017).
Cody Bowers has been teaching voice privately since 2012. He has experience with helping young singers embody the fundamentals of healthy vocal technique and helping adult amateurs improve their musical skills for leisure and ensemble singing. He has worked with aspiring pop singers to develop their personal song-writing technique, and guided pre-college high school students through the application/audition process for music school admissions. He is also a loyal advocate for LGBT youth and has specialized experience in teaching voice to transgender students who are beginning to transition. Since June 2017, he lives in Boston, Massachusetts. |
