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Baritone (+1)

Baritone, Composer

Joel Balzun

Baritone

Composer

Artist

Approved

Praised for his "voluminous sound" and “imposing, ringing baritone," Canadian baritone and composer Joel Balzun is establishing himself as an intelligent and creative new voice both on and off the stage. Highlights of his 2023-2024 season include his debut at Los Angeles Opera, Schaunard (La bohème) with Opera Las Vegas, Escamillo (Carmen) with Union Avenue Opera, works of Mozart with San Luis Obispo Master Chorale and a recital with Cincinnati Song Initiative. Other recent performance highlights include Marcello (La bohème) with Pacific Opera Project, Giorgio Germont (La traviata) with Opera Santa Barbara, works of Ralph Vaughan Williams with San Luis Obispo Master Chorale and numerous recitals featuring the premiere performances of Black Dog by Tom Cipullo throughout the USA.

From Carnegie Hall to the Kennedy Center, Mr. Balzun’s past appearances include the title roles in Don Giovanni and Gianni Schicchi, the Four Villains in Les contes d'Hoffmann, Riolobo (Florencia en al Amazonas), Prince Yeletskiy and Count Tomskiy (Pikovaya Dama), Albert (Werther), Belcore (L'elisir d'amore), Dr. Malatesta (Don Pasquale), Valentin (Faust), Sid (Albert Herring), and John Brooke (Adamo’s Little Women), among others. On the concert stage, Mr. Balzun has been a featured soloist in Copland's Old American Songs, Dvořák’s Te Deum, Fauré's Requiem, Haydn's The Creation, Mahler's Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen, and numerous cantatas of Bach. His acclaimed performance of Bach's Johannes-Passion with the Rochester Bach Festival was recently broadcast multiple times across the United States.

In the competition circuit, Mr. Balzun has been a prize-winner in numerous competitions. Highlights include the 2021 Fulham Opera Robert Presley Memorial Verdi Prize, in addition to prizes from Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition (Los Angeles District and Western Region), Pasadena Vocal Competition, Lyndon Woodside Oratorio-Solo Competition, Houston Saengerbund Vocal Competition, Gwendolyn Roberts Young Artist Auditions, Orpheus National Vocal Competition, Houston Saengerbund Vocal Competition, NATS Artist Awards and the Rio Hondo Symphony Young Artist Competition. He has also been a finalist for Rochester International Voice Competition, Orchestre symphonique de Montréal Concours, Premiere Opera Foundation International Vocal Competition and Vincerò World Singing Competition.

An avid proponent of the music of living and contemporary composers, Mr. Balzun won critical acclaim for his portrayal of the titular Joseph de Rocher in the South Florida premiere of Jake Heggie's Dead Man Walking with Miami Music Festival. He worked with the composer on this work, as well as the role of Charlie in excerpts from Three Decembers. He recently created the role of Ivan Brisilov in the world premiere of Stephanie Fleischmann and Peter Knell’s Arkhipov with Jacaranda Music, conducted by Daniela Candillari. On the concert stage, he has championed rarely-performed works such as George Rochberg's String Quartet No. 7, as well as Peter Maxwell Davies's virtuosic Eight Songs for a Mad King, and numerous performances of Robert Denham's Sutter Creek, among others. In 2014, Mr. Balzun was a featured soloist at the CFAMC National Conference in 2014, where he gave the world premiere performances of works by Christopher Ashbaugh, David Fuentes, Jan Mittelstaedt and Benjamin Williams. His professional debut in 2011 was in the world premiere of Peter Michael von der Nahmer's award winning opera, El canguro with California International Theatre Festival. In  2021, Mr. Balzun launched Black Dog Commission, a new commissioning series for art song repertoire which openly discusses life with mental illness. Through this, Mr. Balzun has premiered a new work by Tom Cipullo and looks forward to premiering a new work by Dale Trumbore.

Also an accomplished composer, Mr. Balzun's “haunting and beautiful” music has received international recognition. He was a multiple prize-winner in the 2017 SOCAN Foundation Awards for Young Composers. In 2014, he was named a finalist for the prestigious ASCAP Morton Gould Young Composers Awards. Other accolades include winning the Dallas Winds’ 9th annual “Call for Fanfares”, as well as winning first prize in the Classical Marimba League International Composition Competition. In 2010, Mr. Balzun was also a prize-winner in the National Broadcast Orchestra’s Galaxie Rising Star Composers’ Competition, winning both the Young Composers Prize and the Grand Prize. In 2012, he was the youngest composer invited to participate in the Art Song Lab through the Vancouver International Song Institute. He was a guest presenter and composer at the CBDNA 2013 National Conference in Greensboro, North Carolina, as well as the 2014 CFAMC National Conference, where he was also a featured soloist.

Praised as “a composer to watch” by the Calgary Herald, Mr. Balzun has been the recipient of numerous commissions. His music has been performed in Canada, the United States, Costa Rica, Denmark, Taiwan and the United Kingdom, by ensembles such as Alberta Winds, Calgary Civic Symphony, Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra, CCM Wind Orchestra, Dallas Winds, the National Broadcast Orchestra of Canada, La Orquestra Vientos de Costa Rica, White Snake Projects and Windago. Additional performances include those by Cadillac Moon Ensemble, Standing Wave Ensemble, and such luminary soloists as Corey Hamm and Megan Moore. His music has been broadcast on CBC Radio 2 and Espace Musique. A selection of Mr. Balzun’s music is currently published by C. Alan Publications and Lovebird Music. He is an active member of ASCAP, CFAMC and SOCAN.

Mr. Balzun studied Music Composition and Vocal Performance at University of Calgary, Biola University and the Eastman School of Music, where he earned his Master's degree under the tutelage of Jan Opalach and Benton Hess. He has augmented his studies as a fellow at the Tanglewood Music Centre, where he was primarily mentored by Sanford Sylvan,  Pittsburgh Festival Opera as a Featured Artist in the Young Professional Artists program, where he was also in Jane Eaglen's inaugural class of the Mastersingers Project for Young Dramatic Voices and the Ravinia Steans Music Institute Program for Singers, in addition to apprenticeships at Opera Saratoga and Santa Fe Opera. He has studied composition with Robert Denham, David Eagle, Laurie Radford and Christopher Wills; and voice with Reid Bruton, William Lock (in memoriam), Michelle Minke and Judith Natalucci.

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