Christopher Reames

American tenor Christopher Reames is establishing an exciting and engaging career as a concert artist, recitalist, and dynamic performer on the operatic stage. He is a winner of The G茅rard Souzay Prize for French Singing sponsored by Dalton Baldwin and administered by The Art Song Preservation Society, and is praised for his 鈥渓ustrous鈥� singing and 鈥済reat musicality鈥� by The Examiner. Chris鈥� compelling performances captivate audiences with beauty and sensitivity.

Chris is a recent finalist in national competitions such as the Joy in Singing Artist Award Competition, New York Oratorio Society Solo Competition, Franco-American Vocal Academy Grand Concours de Chant, Art Song Preservation Society of New York Mary Trueman Song Competition and the National Association of the Teachers of Singing Artist Award Competition. Recent operatic performances include Arturo in Lucia di Lammermoor and Prologue/Peter Quint in The Turn of the Screw with Stony Brook Opera, Slender in The Merry Wives of Windsor, the title role in Weber鈥檚 Oberon, Gomatz in Zaide, and Tamino in Die Zauberfl枚te with the Manhattan based Occasional Opera Company.

An avid performer of sacred music, his recent concert performances include Uriel in The Creation with the Village Church Choir and Orchestra at Kansas City鈥檚 own Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts, Mozart鈥檚 Vesperae solennes de confessore and Obadiah in Elijah with the Huntington Choral Society, Evangelist in the St. John Passion, and The Messiah with the Musica Lumina chamber ensemble of Niles, IL and with the Long Island Choral Society, J.S. Bach鈥檚 Magnificat with St. Peter鈥檚 By-the-Sea Episcopal Church of Bay Shore, NY, excerpts from Bach鈥檚 Weihnachts Oratorium with St. John鈥檚 Church of Cold Spring Harbor, NY, several of Bach鈥檚 sacred cantatas, and secular works by Purcell and Monteverdi with the Stony Brook Baroque Ensemble, and under the direction of John Harbison at the Tanglewood Music Center in Lenox, MA.

Passionate about the art of recital singing, Chris鈥� diverse repertoire spans more than 400 years from Monteverdi, Handel, Haydn and Mozart through Beethoven and Schumann to Debussy, Poulenc, Britten, Barber and Messiaen. Highlights include Schubert鈥檚 Auf dem Strom, Schumann鈥檚 Dichterliebe, Poulenc鈥檚 Tel jour telle nuit, Beethoven鈥檚 An die ferne Geliebte, Brahms鈥� F眉nf Lieder, Op. 47, Debussy鈥檚 F锚tes galantes, and many selections from The Great American Songbook. He possesses a particular affinity for British art song repertoire and has received great praise from audiences following recent performances of Vaughan Williams鈥� On Wenlock Edge, Finzi鈥檚 Farewell to Arms, Gurney鈥檚 鈥淭rench鈥� songs, Britten鈥檚 Winter Words, and Three Songs from 鈥淭he Heart of the Matter鈥�, including Canticle III.

In addition to his career as a soloist, Chris has equally thrived in both large and small choral ensembles. He served the celebrated St. Peter鈥檚 By-the-Sea Episcopal Church Parish Choir in Bay Shore, NY as a staff section leader and soloist from 2011-18. In a similar role, he has previously served superior choral music programs at Green Valley Presbyterian Church in Henderson, NV, Village Presbyterian Church in Prairie Village, KS, and the Church of St. Patrick in Huntington, NY. Singing sacred choral music at a high level remains a consistent artistic priority for him, as it has provided many rewarding musical opportunities, and a fulfilling sense of community contribution and leadership.

Chris is a past fellowship recipient at the Tanglewood Music Center, SongFest, Aspen Music Festival, Hawaii Performing Arts Festival, and Cincinnati College-Conservatory鈥檚 Opera Theatre and Music Festival of Lucca, Italy. He holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the State University of New York at Stony Brook, a Master of Music degree from the University of Nevada at Las Vegas, and a Bachelor of Science degree from William Jewell College in Liberty, Missouri. Chris is currently an Associate Professor of Vocal Music at 麻豆果冻传媒nological University in Cookeville, TN.