Hailed for his “voice of exquisite facility and flexibility” (Observer Today, Dunkirk, NY), tenor Nathaniel McEwen feels at home in both the concert hall and the opera house. He has performed with the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, the Cayuga Chamber Orchestra, the Maui Chamber Orchestra, the International Baroque Soloists of the Bach & Beyond Baroque Music Festival, the Cornell Chamber Orchestra, and the Eastman Philharmonia, as well as with the Rochester-based choirs First Inversion and Voices. In addition, he has been featured multiple times in the Eastman Bach Cantata Series. Nathaniel has sung as soloist in performances of J. S. Bach’s Magnificat, Haydn’s Die Schöpfung and Harmoniemesse, Mozart’s Requiem, Mendelssohn’s Symphony No. 2 (“Lobgesang”), Händel’s Messiah, Schubert’s Mass No. 4, Rachmaninoff’s All-Night Vigil, and Britten’s Rejoice in the Lamb, and he has covered the tenor solos in Mendelssohn’s Elijah with the Rochester Oratorio Society. He was also invited to sing selections from Dichterliebe at a concert for Cornell University donors in Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center and can be heard on the Cornell University Glee Club’s recent CD release, Last Letter Home.
Nathaniel completed his Doctor of Musical Arts (DMA) degree in Vocal Performance and Literature with a minor in Pedagogy at the Eastman School of Music under the tutelage of Jan Opalach and Ruth Hennessy. Since beginning his formal vocal training with the late soprano Judith Kellock at Cornell University, Nathaniel has participated in the SongFest program in Los Angeles and has sung in masterclasses led by renowned soprano Renée Fleming, American composer Jake Heggie, noted tenors Ian Bostridge and Anthony Dean Griffey, Swedish baritone Håkan Hagegård, the late Israeli contralto Mira Zakai, and esteemed collaborative pianists Graham Johnson and Martin Katz.
Nathaniel has sung the roles of Albert Herring in Britten’s Albert Herring, Peter Quint in Britten’s The Turn of the Screw, and Don Basilio in Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro in recent Eastman Opera Theatre productions. He also has sung the role of Gherardo in Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi and has done abundant opera scenes work in Italy as part of the Si parla, si canta Italian language and opera program. Most recently, Nathaniel could be seen in Opera Philadelphia’s production of Prokofiev’s The Love for Three Oranges as one of The Eccentrics, and following his success in this role he will be continuing with the Philadelphia Opera Company singing in their 2020 production of Verdi’s “Requiem,” and more.