John Taylor Ward

The “dynamic young baritone” John Taylor Ward (Alex Ross, “The New Yorker”), has been praised for his “impressive clarity and color,” “velvety suaveness” (“New York Times”), “stylish abandon” (“The New Yorker”), “lovely, firm bass” (“Opera Britannia”), and “finely calibrated precision and heart-rending expressivity” (“Washington Post”). This season, he has appeared as a principal artist on five continents, joining ensembles such as Les Arts Florissants (as a laureate of Le Jardin des voix), Collegium Vocale Ghent, the Boston Camerata, and the Grammy-winning chamber ensemble Roomful of Teeth. Other recent credits include several roles in the Boston Early Music Festival’s cycle of Claudio Monteverdi operas, the premiere staging of “Orfeo Chaman” with the ensemble L’Arpeggiata, and performances of Claude Vivier’s “Copernicus” and Kaija Saariaho’s “La Passion de Simon” under the direction of Peter Sellars.

Originally from Boone, NC (USA), Taylor is a graduate of the Eastman School of Music and holds two advanced degrees from Yale University. He is a recipient of the Margot Fassler Award for Excellence in Research and Performance (2012), the Yale School of Music Alumni Prize (2013), the Harriet Hale Wooley Scholarship for American Artists in Paris (2013), the Carmel Bach Festival’s Virginia Best Adams Fellowship (2014), and the Helpman Award for Best Classical Chamber Music Performance (Australia, 2015). He is the co-founder and associate artistic director of the Lakes Area Music Festival (Brainerd, MN) as well as a founding core member of Cantata Profana, which was recognized with Chamber Music America’s 2015 award for Most Adventurous Programming.

As of June 2017