Bruce Abel (25 July 1936 – 10 March 2021) was an American bass singer.

Biography

Abel studied

singing Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

at the Juilliard School of Music in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

under Hans Heinz, where he excelled in studies of French art songs and

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

lieder. He won a

Fulbright Fellowship The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright–Hays Program, is one of several United States Cultural Exchange Programs with the goal of improving intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural competence between the people of ...

in 1962 which enabled him to pursue further studies in the lieder and

oratorio An oratorio () is a large musical composition for orchestra, choir, and soloists. Like most operas, an oratorio includes the use of a choir, soloists, an instrumental ensemble, various distinguishable characters, and arias. However, opera is mus ...

repertoire in

Stuttgart, Germany Stuttgart (; Swabian German, Swabian: ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the Neckar river in a fe ...

with

Hermann Reutter Hermann Reutter (; 17 June 19001 January 1985) was a German composer and pianist who worked as an academic teacher, university administrator, recitalist, and accompanist. He composed several operas, orchestral works, and chamber music, and especi ...

, Lore Fischer and Elinor Junker-Giesen. He went on to win several international singing competitions: Enrico Caruso Competition New York (1st prize, 1963), Concours International Geneva (1st prize, 1963), Mozart Wettbewerb Vienna (2nd prize, 1963),

ARD International Music Competition The ARD International Music Competition (german: link=no, Internationaler Musikwettbewerb der ARD) is the largest international classical music competition in Germany. It is organised by the Bayerischer Rundfunk and held once a year in Munich. Si ...

(prize for Lied, 1964),

International Johann Sebastian Bach Competition The International Johann Sebastian Bach Competition (german: Internationaler Bach Wettbewerb Leipzig, links=no) is a music competition in Leipzig, Germany, held by the Bach-Archiv Leipzig. It was founded in 1950 and was held every four years from 1 ...

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(1st prize, 1964). He gained international fame during the 1960s and 1970s for his numerous appearances in concerts in Northern America and throughout Europe as well as singing on numerous recordings. He was notably a soloist in the 1971 world premiere of

Fritz Werner Fritz Werner (15 December 1898 – 22 December 1977) was a German choral conductor, church music director, conductor, organist and composer. He founded the Heinrich-Schütz-Chor Heilbronn in 1947 and conducted it until 1973. Career Born in Berli ...

’s '' Whitsun Oratorio'' in

Heilbronn, Germany Heilbronn () is a List of cities and towns in Germany, city in northern Baden-Württemberg, Germany, surrounded by Heilbronn (district), Heilbronn District. With over 126,000 residents, it is the sixth-largest city in the state. From the late Mid ...

. In 1974 he joined the voice faculty at the State University of Music and Performing Arts Stuttgart. Bruce Abel was married to pianist Waltraud Poser and together they have a son Thomas Abel, percussionist.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Abel, Bruce 1936 births 2021 deaths Juilliard School alumni American basses State University of Music and Performing Arts Stuttgart faculty Fulbright alumni