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The American tenor, Jason Shelby McStoots, studied at Wake Christian Academy Raleigh, North Carolina, graduating in 1993. He obtained his BA in Music degree from Duke University in Durham, North Carolina (1993-1997), and his Master of Music in Voice Performance from Boston University (1997-1999).
Jason McStoots has performed around the world and throughout the USA in the genres of opera, oratorio, recital, and musical theater. He has been described by critics as "a natural, a believable actor and a first-rate singer," "a born comic," "light and bluff, but neither lightweight nor bland, and with exemplary enunciation" and as having "a silken tenor voice" and "sweet, appealing tone." He has performed with numerous organizations including Boston Lyric Opera, The Early Music Guild of Seattle, La Petite Bande, Handel Choir of Baltimore, New Haven Symphony Orchestra, Manchester Choral Society, Berkshire Choral Festival, Pacific Musicworks, Emmanuel Music, Granite State Opera, Piffaro, Music Before 1800, Dumbarton Oaks, Opera Providence, Tragicomedia, Blue Heron Renaissance Choir, Tanglewood Music Center and the Boston Early Music Festival. He has performed recitals with Tanglewood Music Center, MIT Recital Series, and Boston French Library, among others.
Jason McStoots is particularly noted for his interpretations of new and old music. For the latter he has been called one of the "singers who are beginning to make their names in Baroque opera" by the Seattle Post-Intelligencer and has received praise for his Japanese solo debut in J.S. Bach's St. Matthew Passion (BWV 244) where he sang the part of the Evangelist and arias, the revival of William Kentridge's production of Monteverdi's The Return of Ulysses and for his performance in George Frideric Handel's Acis and Galatea with the Boston Early Music Festival (BEMF). For Acis and Galatea, he was singled out by Thomas Garvey of Hub Review as offering Boston one of its best acting performances of 2009, for his turns in Lully's Pysché with the Boston Early Music Festival (BEMF), and Monteverdi's Coronation of Poppea with the Early Music Guild of Seattle. In addition, He is a frequent interpreter of J.S. Bach having performed over 30 Cantatas, many with Emmanuel Music’s acclaimed cantata series (since 2006). He is honored to be on of Emmanuel Music’s Lorraine Hunt Lieberson fellows for the 2007-2008 season where he was featured soloist in their performances of J.S. Bach’s Mass in B minor (BWV 232) and St. John Passion (BWV 245).
In the world of new music, Jason McStoots is respected as a consistent and skilled interpreter, having created five operatic roles for the stage as well as giving the world premiers of over ten songs and concert pieces. These have included Charles Shadle's Opera A Question of Love, Shadle’s song cycle Minor Sea Pieces and Brian Hulse’s opera, The Blue Hotel. In addition to being a champion of living composers' works, he has performed many of the works of Benjamin Britten and Ralph Vaughan Williams. As the Madwoman in B. Britten’s Curlew River, McStoots was called “heartbreaking” by The Boston Phoenix who declared the production Boston’s Best Staged Opera 2006.He has long standing relationships with Intermezzo: The New England Chamber Opera Series, a group committed to the performance of new and modern operatic works; and the Florestan Recital Project, a group dedicated to the art of the song recital. His most recent appearance with the Florestan Recital Project was hailed by The Boston Globe as “at least as polished as it is promising.” He can be heard on recordings with Blue Heron on the Blue Heron Label and on BEMF's recording of Lully's Pysché on the CPO label.
Jason McStoots is a sought after ensemble artist, performing with professional ensembles around the USA and in Europe. He is a regular with The Handel and Haydn Society, Boston Baroque, Boston Lyric Opera Chorus, The Boston Camerata, Blue Heron Renaissance Choir, and is a founding member of Exsultemus Period Vocal Ensemble. He is the Artistic Director for Rehearsal Arts in the production of their SingleParts™ Choral Learning Method.
In addition to his solo performing career, Jason McStoots is an established voice teacher in the Boston area. In 2008 he joined the voice faculty at Brandeis University as well as continuing his long relationship with the prestigious and innovative Walnut Hill School. He was recently added to the faculty of the Berkshire Choral Festival and has taught at the Boston Conservatory and Phillips Exeter Academy. Hae also worked as IT/ Database Manager at Development Guild/DDI in Brookline, MA from 1999 to 2005. He currently lives in Waltham, Massachusetts. |
