|
The Canadian baritone, Kevin McMillan, took piano lessons and singing in church and school as a child, then sang in various choirs, including the Listowel District Secondary School Chorus and the Ontario Youth Choir (1977, 1978, 1980). He began formal music studies in 1979, when he transferred from the University of Guelph, where he had studied science and agriculture. He obtained his Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Western Ontario (1979-1983), where he sudied with with Martin Chambers and Lois Rooney-Giurin. He was in England during the summers of 1980-19822 to work with Peter Pears and Elisabeth Schwarzkopf at the Britten-Pears School in Aldeburgh. He obtained his his Master of Music degree Voice (singing) from rhe Juilliard School of Music in New York City (1983-1986), , where his teachers were Daniel Ferro and Ellen Faull.
In a few short years, Kevin McMillan has earned a place among his generation most respected and admired concert artists. Trained in Canada, Britain and America, his 'burnished, elegant voice' and 'singularly remarkable interpretive skills' continue to earn the highest praise from both audiences and critics. His appearances are now taking him far and abroad, including the major concert halls of New York, San Francisco, Paris, Berlin, Toronto, Montréal and London.
Recent concert appearances have included debuts with the New York Philharmonic in the title role of Elijah under the baton of Kurt Masur and with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra under Robert Shaw in performances of Georg Frideric Handel's Messiah, a work which he has often performed with Les Violons du Roy and La Chapelle de Québec under Bernard Labadie. He appears frequently at the major summertime music festivals, including the Casals Festival, Tanglewood, the Oregon Bach Festival and the Baldwin-Wallace College Bach Festival, among others.
As a recitalist, Kevin McMillan has been described as 'a music talent' who sings the art song repertory with 'rare insight and intensity'. His New York debut recital, at 92nd Street Y's Kaufman Concert Hall main series, was a performance of Die Schöne Müllerin. In reviewing Kevin McMillan's performance of Müllerin, Peter G. Davis of New York Magazine notes that he was the possessor of 'a young voice of glowing freshness and beauty… an intelligent, lively distinctive interpretive personality… [and] laser-like concentration on the ways words and music should connect…'
Kevin McMillan has recorded Die Schöne Müllerin for Dorian recordings and the first volume of Bach's secular cantatas with Les Violons du Roy. His other recordings include acclaimed CD's for CBC Records, Marquis/Denon, and two recordings with the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra under Herbert Blomstedt on Decca/London.
Kevin McMillan served as Professor of Voice at James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Virginia (2009-2024). He was also Voice Teacher at American Institute of Musical Studies, Graz, Austria. Since May 2024, he is Voice Consultant at his own McMillan Voice Studio in Stratford, Ontario. He is an acclaimed voice teacher. Among his pupils and/or singers who have attended his master-classes: Ricky Goodwyn, Jr. (Tenor); Michael Richardson (Baritone). |
