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The American tenor, flautist and music teacher, Christopher Hochstuhl, is a proud alumnus of the Westminster Choir College, having completed both his Bachelor’s and Master’s Degree (2017) under the tutelage of Charles Walker. At Westminster, he was repeatedly featured in the college's opera company and art song festivals. He also served as the graduate assistant of voice pedagogy, overseeing student/faculty research and working with students to assimilate theoretical concepts studied in voice science into practical application in their own singing in the Presser Voice Laboratory.
Highlights of earlier seasons included Lucano and Liberto Capitano in Montevedi's L'incoronazione di Poppea with Opernfest Berlin, Oronte in George Frideric Handel's Alcina as a professional fellow in the Hawai’i Performing Arts Festival, and performances with the New York City Opera in Rameau's Pygmalion and the American premier of Wuorinen’s Brokeback Mountain. Christopher Hochstuhl has also performed with Boise's Opera Idaho, the Bel Canto Festival at Caramoor (New York), and the Arezzo Opera Festival. With Opera Idaho, he covered Nemorino in the mainstage production of Donizetti's L'elisir d'amore, performed the role in an outreach tour of 38 performances across the state of Idaho, and soloed in concerts in the cities of Boise, McCall, and Pocatello. With Caramoor, he appeared in Bellini's Il pirata and concerts of bel canto songs and opera in both the Venetian Theater and Spanish Cortile under the baton of Will Crutchfield. With the Arezzo Opera Festival, he performed the role of Oronte in G.F. Handel's Alcina at the Badia delle Santa Flora e Lucia in Arezzo, Italy.
An active concert soloist, Christopher Hochstuhl recently made his debut with the Princeton Pro Musica as tenor soloist in L.v. Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 and Ralph Vaughan Williams' Serenade to Music in Princeton University's Richardson Auditorium. Additional concert soloist credits include George Frideric Handel's Messiah; W.A. Mozart's Requiem with the Saint Paul’s Episcopal Orchestra in Wilmington, North Carolina; and J.S. Bach's Matthäus-Passion (BWV 244) and Johannes-Passion (BWV 245) with the Saint Peter’s Lutheran Period Orchestra (New York City). He has also premiered 3 new-work commissions as tenor soloist: The Courtship by Valingieri with AnticoModerno in the First Lutheran Church of Boston, Mass by Fitzmartin with the Philadelphia Sinfonia in Verizon Hall of the Kimmel Center (Philaldephia), and Lux Notcis by Sedek with the New Jersey Choral Arts Society.
In December of 2019, Christopher Hochstuhl made his German principal debut singing the lead tenor role of Pilot in Stadttheater Gießen's new opera Glaube.Liebe.Abschied. He is scheduled to make his debut with Opera Wilmington as Tamino in W.A. Mozart's Die Zauberflöte in the summer of 2022 (twice postponed due to COVID). He has performed with professional opera companies and festivals across the USA. In the winter of 2019, he was seen with the Sarasota Opera, performing several concerts in the cities of Sarasota, Venice, and Bradenton as Don Ramiro (La Cenerentola), Florindo (Mascagni's Le maschere), and Orphée (Orphée aus enfers). He also made appearances in Sarasota Opera's Turandot, Die Zauberflöte, and Nabucco. In the summer of 2019, he made his debut with Teatro Nuovo covering the roles of Giannetto and Isacco in Rossini's La gazza ladra. He also performed the tenor solo in movement 9 of Rossini's Stabat Mater, La gazza in La gazza ladra, and appeared in Bellini's La straniera.
Christopher Hochstuhl's second passion in life is teaching classical and musical theatre solo singing and thus he maintains a private studio between performances. He is also on the voice faculty of the college preparatory division of Rowan University. Many of his students are now pursuing professional music degrees in musical theatre and voice performance at universities across the USA. Amongst acceptances to several programs, recent alumni of the studio are studying musical theatre at Boston University, the University of Tampa, James Madison University, and The College of New Jersey. Students of classical singing are studying currently at the Westminster Choir College (Princeton, NJ) and Montclair University. Current students are performing roles in their high schools’ musicals and regional theatre programs with the Broadway Theatre of Pitman, the Paper Mill Playhouse, the McCarter Theatre, and the Count Basie Theatre. Additionally, students have placed in competitions such as NJ NATS, and have received awards from their regional theaters.
Having completed a focus in voice pedagogy with the Westminster Choir College, Christopher Hochstuhl has presented his original research at the 2017 Voice Foundation (Philadelphia), World Voice Day (Princeton), Gender & Sexuality Studies Colloquium (Rider University), and the Independent Scholarship and Creative Activities Presentations (Rider University). He completed his first publication in 2015 for his writing on gender transgression and masculinity in the music of female Disney Villains, “Poor Unfortunate Gender Stereotypes”, published by W.W. Norton & Company on The Avid Listener.
Christopher Hochstuhl remains an avid flutist, having studied extensively and receiving admission to Indiana University’s Bachelor of Music in Flute Performance program, prior to making the dedication to professional voice studies in conservatory. He still enjoys performing as a flutist on occasion. He has recorded on the Naxos Label in the CD “Carolae: Music for Christmas” featuring the music of James Whitbourn, James Jordan, and the Williamson Voices. This CD was nominated for preliminary voting for a GRAMMY in best choral performance. |
