John Grau, tenor
Tenor John Grau has established himself as a renowned and in demand performer of oratorio and opera from Baroque to 20th-century music.
As a soloist, he has performed at the Boston Early Music Festival, the Ravinia Music Festival, the Bach Festival Society of Winter Park Festival, and the inaugural Duke University Bach Cantata Series, to name a few.
An exciting interpreter of the music of J.S. Bach, John’s voice has “soared” (Orlando Sentinel) repeatedly with the Bach Festival Society of Winter Park, performing the role of the Evangelist and solos in the major works of J.S. Bach. He has also appeared as the tenor soloist in the B-minor Mass with the Boulder Bach Festival and the Rochester Choral Arts Ensemble and performed the tenor arias in Bach’s St. John Passion at St. Olaf College.
Recent engagements have also included performances of Handel’s Messiah with the Rochester Choral Arts Ensemble and the Messiah Choral Society, the Monteverdi Vespers of 1610 with the Seicento Baroque Ensemble and at the Montana Early Music Festival, and Mendelssohn’s Elijah with the Brevard Symphony Orchestra and Chorus. In addition, he has numerous appearances as a soloist with Oratory Bach in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and has performed with the Colorado Bach Ensemble.
Although his career is focused on concert work, John has been praised for his appearances on the operatic stage. He has recently appeared as Flute in Benjamin Britten’s A Midsummer Night's Dream, Bardolfo in Verdi’s Falstaff, Dr. Blind in Die Fledermaus, Ferrando in Mozart’s Cosi fan tutte, the Tenor Priest in The Magic Flute, and as Henrik in A Little Night Music.
John is a frequent recitalist and is a strong advocate for contemporary music. His recent solo recital programs include the music of Bernstein and Copland, as well as Schubert and Finzi. He performed the tenor premier of the ASCAP Morton Gould Young Composers Award for Abbie Biminis’s Nattsanger, and Alec Roth’s Songs in Time of War to enthusiastic audiences in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
As well as a thriving solo career, John has appeared with professional vocal ensembles such as The Singers-Minnesota Choral Artists, The South Dakota Chorale, and The Minnesota Beethoven Festival Chorus with Dale Warland. He is also the co-artistic director and founding member of the Bach Vocal Artists vocal ensemble based in Winter Park, Florida. Recent recording credits include Bach Festival Society (What Good News the Angels Bring, 2022) The Singers (Mid-Winter Songs, 2010, At The River, 2013) The South Dakota Chorale (In Paradisum, 2011, Sacred Songs of Life and Love, 2015).
Dr. Grau’s scholarly activities contribute to the vocal pedagogy field. He has presented his research on developing tenor voices using excerpts from Handel oratorio arias at the Minnesota Music Educators Association, and at the National Association of Teachers of Singing convention in July of 2014. His recent research is focused on vocal and physical health and the relation to vocal function and pedagogy. As a committed performer and educator, Dr. Grau also serves as an adjudicator for the Bach Festival Society of Winter Park Oratorio Competition for young American singers specializing in oratorio repertoire. This inaugural competition is scheduled for February 2025.
John received his BA in biology and music from St. Olaf College, his masters degree in vocal performance from Northern Arizona University, and his Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the University of Minnesota. Dr. Grau currently teaches and is the chair of the Department of Music at Rollins College in Winter Park, Florida. He has previously taught at The University of Colorado-Boulder, and The University of Minnesota-Twin Cities.
Lear more at johngrau.com