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The American baritone, Joshua E. Conyers, studied at the Governor's School for the Arts in Norfolk, Virginia (Class of 2006) and at Western Branch High in Chesapeake, Virginia (Class of 2006). He obtained his Bachelor of Music degree in in Vocal Performance from University of North Carolina (UNC) School of the Arts (2006-2010); his Master of Music degree in Vocal Performance from Indiana University Jacobs School of Music-in Bloomington (2010-2014), where he also served as Associate Professor (2011-2014); and his Performance Artist Certificate from A.J. Fletcher Opera Institute- (2014-2015). He is a winner of several voice competitions and the recipient of numerous scholarships including the A.J. Fletcher Scholarship in Music, the Kenan Excellence Award in Music, the Shivers Foundation Scholarship, Metropolitan Opera National Council District Winner (2010, 2011 and 2015) , MONC Regional Encouragement Award Winner, S. Livingston Mather Scholar Competition 1st Place Winner, the Charlotte Opera Guild Competition Winner, the Heafner/Williams Vocal Competition 1st place Winner, NATS Award Winner, Bland Competition Winner, and an Omega Psi Phi Competition Winner. Joshua was awarded the Campbell Wachter Memorial Award for Singers as a Young Artist at Santa Fe Opera in 2014.
“Conyers poured forth a deliciously honeyed baritone that would seduce anyone. If his characterization was more hearty than suave, he still effortlessly summoned up a laser-beam look that communicated hidden danger and volatility” (Joanne Sydney Lessner - Opera News) as the title role in W.A. Mozart's Don Giovanni at the Martina Arroyo Foundation Prelude to Performance Program. In 2014, Joshua Conyers made his Santa Fe Opera debut as the Gypsy in Georges Georges Bizet's Carmen. At the Santa Fe Opera, he has covered the roles of Mr. Umeya in the American premiere of Huang Ruo’s Dr. Sun Yat-Sen, Morales in G. Bizet's Carmen, Walt Whitman in the world premiere of Theodore Morrison's Oscar and the Marquis d'Obigny in Giuseppe Verdi’s La traviata. In 2014, he performed the role of Giorgio Germont in Verdi's La traviata at Indiana University Opera and Ballet Theater. Also, he performed the title role in Verdi’s Falstaff, Marcello in Giacomo Puccini’s La bohème and Valentin in Charles Gounod's Faust at the Opera and Ballet Theater. He performed Aeneas in Henry Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas at the Indiana University Early Music Institute. In the summer of 2012, he covered the role of Scarpia in Puccini’s Tosca at the Utah Festival Opera. He performed the Mandarin in Puccini’s Turandot and the role of Ceprano and covering the title role in Verdi’s Rigoletto at Piedmont Opera in Winston Salem, NC. He sang the roles of Falke in Johann Strauss’ Die Fledermaus, John Sorel in Gian Carlo Menotti’s The Consul, The Vicar in Benjamin Britten’s Albert Herring, Lord Guglielmo Cecil in Gaetano Donizetti’s Maria Stuarda, Buonafede in Joseph Haydn's Il mondo della luna, Henry Davis in Kurt Weill’s Street Scene, Bob in Menotti’s The Old Maid and the Thief, and the Devil Gate Keeper in Antonín Dvořák's The Devil and Kate at the A.J. Fletcher Opera Institute.
Joshua Conyers has been a featured Oratorio soloist as Peter/Pilate in St Matthew Passion (BWV 244) by J.S. Bach with the Utah Festival Opera, Neue Liebeslieder Walzer, Op. 65 and Ein deutsches Requiem by Johannes Brahms, Ralph Vaughan Williams' Dona Nobis Pacem, Gabriel Fauré's Requiem in D minor, George Frideric Handel's Messiah, J.S. Bach's Magnificat (BWV 243), J.S. Bach's Cantata BWV 18 - Gleichwie der Regen und Schnee vom Himmel fällt and Camille Saint-Saëns' Oratorio de Noël, Op.12. He has participated in Manteo’s Summer Performance Festival, Piedmont Opera’s Educational Outreach Program, Opera Theatre of the Rockies Vocal Arts Symposium, and the Magnolia Baroque Festival. Recently, he performed the baritone solo in Carmina Burana by Carl Orff with the UNC School of the Arts joined with the Winston Salem Chorale. Recent performances include the bass soloist in G.F. Handel's Messiah with the Mozart Club (North Carolina) and with the Fayetteville Symphony/Cumberland Oratorio Singers.
Joshua Conyers' upcoming performances include Don Magnifico in Gioachino Rossini’s La Cenerentola with Opera Iowa, Baritone 2/Isabella/King in Cinderella in Spain by Mary Carol Warwick with the Robeson County Arts Council, and covering the title role in Verdi’s Falstaff with Des Moines Metro Opera in 2016. He married Laura Conyers on December 28, 2013 and currently lives in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. |
