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The English tenor and music pedagogue, Julian Pike, studied at the Royal College of Music and subsequently spent two summers in France studying the French repertoire with Pierre Bernac.
In 1982 Julian Pike was chosen by Peter Brook to sing Don Jose in his famous production of Carmen in Paris, subsequently touring to Zürich, Stockholm, Copenhagen and New York. He then sang the central role of Michael in Stockhausen's Donnerstag aus Licht in Holland, Germany, Italy and, in September 1985, at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. He has been involved in many collaborations with Karlheinz Stockhausen since the La Scala Milan première of Montag aus Licht which he has now performed in the Holland Festival, at the Frankfury Alte Oper and at the Festival d'Automne in Paris.
He took part in Henze's The English Cat at Frankfurt in the Edinburgh Festival, and in Montepulciano, took the role of Lord Puff under the composer's direction. This production appeared on video and he subsequently repeated the role in Berne. He has performed Piet in Ligeti's Le Grand Macabre in the Royal Festival Hall, appeared in the Wexford Festival in a production of Weill's Mahogonny and sung Brighella in Ariadne auf Naxos for the Netherlands Opera. He made his debut at La Monnaie, Brussels, in Monteverdi's L'Incoronazione di Poppea and he continues to work regularly with Music Theatre Wales for whom his roles include Roderick in Glass's Fall of the House of Usher and the Doctor in Nyman's The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat.
Julian Pike is a highly accomplished recitalist and his repertoire includes woks in German, French, Russian and Czech. His festival appearances include Bath, City of London, Camden, South Bank Summer Music and Aldeburgh. He broadcasts regularly for the BBC and as a soloist with Fortune's Fire Lute Song Ensemble. He has given major recitals and broadcasts in Salzburg and Vienna and at other festivals in Austria, Yugoslavia, Finland and Germany.
Concert engagements include concerts with the BBC Symphony Orchestra at the Royal Albert Hall (Dies by Rihm, Il Canto Sospeso by Nono) and concerts in Salzburg, Lisbon, Caen and Helsinki. he has had futher extensive projects with Stockhausen and Dream of Gerontius with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra. He was appointed as Assistant Head of School of Vocal and Operatic Studies at Birmingham Conservatoire in January 1994.
Julian Pike has continued to perform, giving many recitals in Birmingham and London. He worked in Norway with Opera Vest and Bit 20 giving twelve performances of The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat. He recently worked with Stockhausen on Donnerstag aus Licht in Kürten, the composer's home, also giving performances in the Schleswig-Holstein Festival. In 1999, he took up the post of Head of Vocal Studies at Birmingham Conservatoire |
