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The American baritone and voice pedagogue, Brian Ming Chu, obtained his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Architecture from from Cornell University (1991-June 1998); and his Master of Music degree in Voice Performance and Opera from the Peabody Conservatory of Music (1998-2001).
Acclaimed by the Washington Post for his “sterling performances”, baritone Brian Ming Chu has established himself onstage as a dynamic interpeter of music from the Baroque to the Great American Songbook. Hailed for his “rich, authoritative tone" (Kansas City Metropolis), and “range, agility, and expressive storytelling ability” (Monterey Herald), he has been a regular soloist with the Bach Choir of Bethlehem, Brandywine Baroque, the Dryden Ensemble, La Fiocco, The King’s Noyse, Piffaro, the Choral Arts Society of Philadelphia, Portland Baroque Orchestra, Washington Bach Consort, as well as the Caramoor Music Festival and Carmel Bach Festival.
A specialist in oratorio and choral music, Brian Ming Chu has given numerous performances in the title role of Felix Mendelssohn’s Elijah, J.S. Bach's Passions, Haydn’s Creation, Johannes Brahms, W.A. Mozart and Verdi Requiems, and George Frideric Handel's Messiah on three continents. Additional credits include Orff’s Carmina Burana, Finzi’s In terra pax, Ralph Vaughan Williams' Dona nobis pacem, and L.v. Beethoven's Symphony No. 9. He premiered the role of Rudyard Kipling in John Muehleisen’s A Kipling Passion for the WWI centenary in Kansas City, and performed the role of Martin Luther in Ludwig Meinardus’ 1876 oratorio, Luther in Worms, with the Bach Choir Eisenach and Dresden Singakademie, for the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation. He made his Kennedy Center debut in Monteverdi’s Vespers of 1610 with the Choral Arts Society of Washington. On the operatic stage, he has performed with opera companies around the country, in signature roles including Marcello in La Bohème, the Count in W.A. Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro, Figaro in The Barber of Seville, and Silvio in Pagliacci. With the Bach Choir of Bethlehem, he premiered multiple roles in their newly-commissioned (2014) opera, Young Meister Bach. Recent appearances include the title role of Anton Rubinstein's Russian opera, The Demon, at the Academy of Vocal Arts, and Gustav Mahler's songs from Des Knaben Wunderhorn in Philadelphia.
A passionate advocate for contemporary art song, Brian Ming Chu has been cited for “vocal and interpretive confidence” (Philadelphia Inquirer) in repeat appearances with the modern ensemble Network for New Music, collaborating with eminent American composers, such as Aaron Jay Kernis (Brilliant Sky, Infinite Sky), Lori Laitman, Daniel Asia (Amichai Songs), Steven Stucky, and music theater composer Adam Guettel. He has appeared in recital at Carnegie’s Weill and Merkin Halls in New York, the Annenberg Center for the Arts, Washington's Phillips Collection, and as a US Embassy Cultural Artist in French West Africa and Vienna, Austria.
In the aducation field, Brian Ming Chu has served as Instructor of Applied Voice at Lehigh University in Bethlehem (September 2006-May 2010); Instructor of Applied Voice; Vocal coach, Fetter Chamber Music program at Swarthmore College (Feb 2008-May 2011); Instructor of Applied Voice at Haverford College in Haverford, Pennsylvania (January 2012-May 2013); Adjunct Professor of Voice at Rowan University (September 2009-May 2014); Adjunct Professor of Voice at Muhlenberg College (since September 2005). As a lecturer in voice at Muhlenberg for 15 years, he brings critical thinking from the performer’s perspective to his analytical approach to pedagogy. |
