Steven L Rickards

Style: Opera; Classical; Musical Theatre

Title: Instructor of vocal studies, Butler University, The University of Indianapolis,

Bio:

Steven Rickards has received international acclaim as one of America’s finest countertenors. He sang the premiere of John Adams' opera-oratorio El Niño at the Châtelet opera in Paris (2000). There have been subsequent performances of the work with the Adelaide Symphony, the BBC Philharmonic, the Deutsches Symphonie Orchester, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, San Francisco Symphony, the Tokyo Symphony, the Malmö Opera (Sweden) and Den Norske Opera (Norway). His schedule of performances has included frequent appearances Joshua Rifkin and the Bach Ensemble with performances throughout the United States, Europe, and Australia. He has also performed with The American Bach Soloists, Chanticleer, Theatre of Voices, Apollo’s Fire, Ensemble Voltaire, the Gabrieli Consort, Chicago’s Music of the Baroque, the New London Consort, The St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, the Seattle Baroque Orchestra, the Opera Company of Philadelphia, and the Santa Fe Opera. He has sung at Carnegie Hall with the Oratorio Society of New York, and in France as a soloist with The Festival Singers under the direction of Robert Shaw. Rickards was the was the soloist in the American premiere performance of Michael Nyman's Self-Laudatory Hymn of Inanna and Her Omnipotence with the Netherlands Wind Ensemble at Lincoln Center's Alice Tully Hall. He has recorded for Chanticleer, Decca, Dorian, Four Winds, Gothic, Harmonia Mundi, Koch, Newport Classics, Smithsonian, and Teldec the labels. Rickards can also be heard on the Naxos label where he has recorded two solo albums with lutenist Dorothy Linell of the songs of John Dowland and Thomas Campion. Steven currently lives in Indianapolis where he teaches singing at Butler University and the University of Indianapolis, Marian University and North Central High School. He also teaches singing on the faculty of the Historical Performance Institute at Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana. He sings regularly with The Choir of Men and Boys at Christ Church Cathedral, and is the founder of Echoing Air, an ensemble specializing in the repertoire of the English Baroque, with an emphasis on chamber works featuring countertenor voices with baroque ensemble. He received his doctorate from Florida State University.

Websites: www.stevenrickards.com, www.echoingair.org

Voice Type: Countertenor

Music Styles Taught: Opera; Classical; Musical Theatre

Availability: I am available as a performer; I am currently accepting private students; I am available as a clinician or presenter; I offer lessons in a group environment; I accept students through a college or university program

Contact Information