Nicholas Phan (last name pronounced /ˈPan/; b.

Hartford Hartford is the capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It was the seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960. It is the core city in the Greater Hartford metropolitan area. Census estimates since the ...

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...

, January 3, 1979) is an American

lyric tenor A tenor is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. The tenor's vocal range extends up to C5. The low extreme for tenors is widel ...

who has performed internationally with orchestras including the

New York Philharmonic The New York Philharmonic, officially the Philharmonic-Symphony Society of New York, Inc., globally known as New York Philharmonic Orchestra (NYPO) or New York Philharmonic-Symphony Orchestra, is a symphony orchestra based in New York City. It is ...

Philadelphia Orchestra The Philadelphia Orchestra is an American symphony orchestra, based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. One of the " Big Five" American orchestras, the orchestra is based at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, where it performs its subscription ...

, the

Los Angeles Philharmonic The Los Angeles Philharmonic, commonly referred to as the LA Phil, is an American orchestra based in Los Angeles, California. It has a regular season of concerts from October through June at the Walt Disney Concert Hall, and a summer season at th ...

, the

Philharmonia Orchestra The Philharmonia Orchestra is a British orchestra based in London. It was founded in 1945 by Walter Legge, a classical music record producer for EMI. Among the conductors who worked with the orchestra in its early years were Richard Strauss, W ...

, the

San Francisco Symphony The San Francisco Symphony (SFS), founded in 1911, is an American orchestra based in San Francisco, California. Since 1980 the orchestra has been resident at the Louise M. Davies Symphony Hall in the city's Hayes Valley neighborhood. The San Fr ...

, the

Chicago Symphony Orchestra The Chicago Symphony Orchestra (CSO) was founded by Theodore Thomas in 1891. The ensemble makes its home at Orchestra Hall in Chicago and plays a summer season at the Ravinia Festival. The music director is Riccardo Muti, who began his tenure ...

and others. Born to a

Chinese Indonesian Chinese Indonesians ( id, Orang Tionghoa Indonesia) and colloquially Chindo or just Tionghoa are Indonesians whose ancestors arrived from China at some stage in the last eight centuries. Chinese people and their Indonesian descendants have ...

father (from

Jakarta Jakarta (; , bew, Jakarte), officially the Special Capital Region of Jakarta ( id, Daerah Khusus Ibukota Jakarta) is the capital and largest city of Indonesia. Lying on the northwest coast of Java, the world's most populous island, Jakarta ...

) and

Greek American Greek Americans ( el, Ελληνοαμερικανοί ''Ellinoamerikanoí'' ''Ellinoamerikánoi'' ) are Americans of full or partial Greek ancestry. The lowest estimate is that 1.2 million Americans are of Greek descent while the highest es ...

mother (from

Indianapolis Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Marion ...

, he grew up in

Ann Arbor Anne, alternatively spelled Ann, is a form of the Latin female given name Anna (name), Anna. This in turn is a representation of the Hebrew Hannah (given name), Hannah, which means 'favour' or 'grace'. Related names include Annie (given name), ...

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

, where he attended Greenhills School, then he studied voice at the

University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre & Dance The University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre & Dance is an undergraduate and graduate institution for the performing arts in the United States. It is part of the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor. The school was founded by Calvin Brainerd ...

, then the

Manhattan School of Music The Manhattan School of Music (MSM) is a private music conservatory in New York City. The school offers bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees in the areas of classical and jazz performance and composition, as well as a bachelor's in mu ...

. He is also an alumnus of the

Houston Grand Opera Houston Grand Opera (HGO) is an American opera company located in Houston, Texas. Founded in 1955 by German-born impresario Walter Herbert and three local Houstonians,Giesberg, Robert I., Carl Cunningham, and Alan Rich. ''Houston Grand Opera at ...

Studio and the Marlboro Music School. He has been called "one of the world's most remarkable singers" by the Boston Globe. Phan's many opera credits include appearances with the

Los Angeles Opera The Los Angeles Opera is an American opera company in Los Angeles, California. It is the fourth-largest opera company in the United States. The company's home base is the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, part of the Los Angeles Music Center. Leadersh ...

, Houston Grand Opera, Glimmerglass Festival, Chicago Opera Theater, Seattle Opera, Portland Opera, Glyndebourne Opera, Maggio Musicale in Florence, Deutsche Oper am Rhein, and Frankfurt Opera. His repertoire includes the title roles in Acis and Galatea and Candide, Almaviva in Il barbiere di Siviglia, Nemorino in L'elisir d'amore, Fenton in Falstaff, Tamino in Die Zauberflöte, Don Ottavio in Don Giovanni, and Lurcanio in Ariodante. Phan's discography includes five studio albums, including two focusing on the works of

Benjamin Britten Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten (22 November 1913 – 4 December 1976, aged 63) was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. He was a central figure of 20th-century British music, with a range of works including opera, other ...

, for which he was called "a major new Britten interpreter" by Anthony Tommasini of the

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

. He also recorded the world premier of

Elliott Carter Elliott Cook Carter Jr. (December 11, 1908 – November 5, 2012) was an American modernist composer. One of the most respected composers of the second half of the 20th century, he combined elements of European modernism and American "ultra- ...

's ''A Sunbeam's Architecture'' to commemorate Carter's 103rd birthday. and has been featured in recordings of many orchestral and ensemble works. He has been nominated twice for a

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

: first for his 2010 recording of Stravinsky's ''Pulcinella'' with

Pierre Boulez Pierre Louis Joseph Boulez (; 26 March 1925 – 5 January 2016) was a French composer, conductor and writer, and the founder of several musical institutions. He was one of the dominant figures of post-war Western classical music. Born in Mont ...

and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and most recently in 2017 for ''Gods and Monsters'', his recording of selected German Lieder with Myra Huang. Phan is the founding artistic director o
Collaborative Arts Institute of Chicago
and on the faculty of the

DePaul University DePaul University is a private university, private, Catholic higher education, Catholic research university in Chicago, Illinois. Founded by the Congregation of the Mission, Vincentians in 1898, the university takes its name from the 17th-centu ...

School of Music.

Recordings

*''Clairières: Songs by Lili & Nadia Boulanger'', with Myra Huang, Avie Records (2020) *''Illuminations: Britten, Debussy, Fauré'', with Myra Huang, Telegraph Quartet, the Knights Chamber Orchestra. Avie Records (2018) *''Bach: St. John Passion'', as Evangelist with

Apollo's Fire Apollo's Fire, The Cleveland Baroque Orchestra is a popular and critically acclaimed period-instrument ensemble specializing in early music (Renaissance, Baroque, Classical, and early Romantic) based in Cleveland, Ohio. The GRAMMY-winning ensembl ...

, Jeannette Sorrell, Amanda Forsythe, Terry Wey, Christian Immler, Jesse Blumberg and Jeffrey Strauss. Avie Records (2017) *''Gods & Monsters'', with Myra Huang. Avie Records (2017) *''A. Scarlatti: La Gloria di Primavera''. with

Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra The Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra (PBO) is an American orchestra based in San Francisco. PBO is dedicated to historically informed performance of Baroque, Classical and early Romantic music on original instruments. The orchestra performs its su ...

Nicholas McGegan James Nicholas McGegan OBE (born 14 January 1950 in Sawbridgeworth, Hertfordshire, England) is a British harpsichordist, flutist, conductor and early music expert. Biography McGegan received his early education at Nottingham High School. He subs ...

, Diana Moore, Suzana Ograjensek, Clint van der Linde, Douglas Williams, Philharmonia Chorale. (2016) *''A Painted Tale'', with Michael Leopold, Ann-Marie Morgan. Avie Records (2015) *''Schubert: Die Verschworenen'', with

Leon Botstein Leon Botstein (born December 14, 1946 in Zürich, Switzerland) is a Swiss-American conducting, conductor, educator, and scholar serving as the President of Bard College. Biography 1946–1975: Early life, education, and career Botstein was ...

, Camilla Zamorra, Nathan Stark, Deanna Breiwick, Matthew Tuell, American Symphony Orchestra. (2014) *''St Matthew Passion'' (DVD). with the

Orchestre de chambre de Paris The Orchestre de chambre de Paris (OCP) is a French chamber orchestra based in Paris. The orchestra performs throughout Paris with concerts at the Philharmonie de Paris, where it is a resident ensemble, and also at such venues as the Théâtre de ...

Schola Cantorum of Oxford Schola Cantorum of Oxford is the longest running chamber choir of University of Oxford, and one of the longest established and most widely known chamber choirs in the United Kingdom. The conductor is Steven Grahl. The choir was founded in 1960 ...

, Maîtrise de Paris, John Nelson, Lucy Crowe, Matthew Brook, Bertrand Grunewald, Werner Güra, Stephen Morscheck & Christine Rice. EuroArts (2013) *''Still Falls the Rain'', with Myra Huang,

Alan Cumming Alan Cumming (born 27 January 1965) is a British actor. His London stage appearances include ''Hamlet'', the Maniac in ''Accidental Death of an Anarchist'' (for which he received an Olivier Award), the lead in '' Bent'', The National Theatre o ...

, Jennifer Montone,

Sivan Magen Sivan Magen (born 1980) is an Israeli harpist. Raised in Jerusalem in a musical family, the child of two cellists, Magen started his musical studies at the piano with Benjamin Oren and Talma Cohen, and first tried the harp when his family moved to ...

. Avie Records (2012) *''Carter: 103rd Birthday Concert'' with

Ryan McAdams Ryan Bell McAdams (born March 16, 1982) is an American conductor. Career in 2006, he received Fulbright Grantfor Stockholm, Sweden, where he spent the year serving as Apprentice Conductor to the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic, studying and travel ...

, Marie Tachouet, Stephen Taylor, Charles Neidich, Virgil Blackwell, Peter Kolkay, Jim Pugh, Stephen Gosling, Mike Truesdell, Gordon Gottlieb, Aaron Boyd, Miranda Cuckson & Tai Murray. NMC Digital (2011) *''Britten: Winter Words, Seven Sonnets of Michelangelo'', with Myra Huang. Avie Records (2011) *''Stravinsky: Pulcinella''. with Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Pierre Boulez, Roxana Constantinescu, Kyle Ketelsen. CSO Resound (2010)

References

External links

Nicholas Phan websiteNicholas Phan blogMusical Toronto.org Review: Nicholas Phan Embodies the Perfect Benjamin Britten TenorSF Chronicle: CD review: 'Winter Words,' Britten
{{DEFAULTSORT:Phan, Nicholas American operatic tenors Living people University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre & Dance alumni American musicians of Chinese descent American people of Greek descent Musicians from Ann Arbor, Michigan 1979 births Musicians from Hartford, Connecticut American people of Chinese-Indonesian descent