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The American bass-bartitone, Andrew Padgett, holds a B.S. in physics (2009), an M.M. in voice (2011) from UC Santa Barbara, and an M.M. in Early Music, Oratorio, and Chamber Ensemble (2015) at Yale University's Institute of Sacred Music, where he studied under tenor James Taylor, and was a member of the internationally-acclaimed Yale Schola Cantorum. His scholarships and awards include: Yale Institute of Sacred Music, Louise E. Maclean Scholarship (2013); Early Music America, Summer Workshop Scholarship (2013); Vancouver Early Music Festival, Elaine Adair Mediaeval Scholarship (2013); Yale School of Music, Alumni Association Prize (2014).
Praised for his "powerful baritone and impressive vocal range" (Boston Music Intelligencer) and as a "musicianly, smooth vocalist, capable in divisions" (Opera News Online), Andrew Padgett is an accomplished interpreter of both Baroque and medieval vocal and instrumental music. In 2012 he performed the role of Harapha in George Frideric Handel's Samson (HWV 57) under the baton of conductor Nicholas McGegan, and was also a featured soloist in the first modern performance of 17th-century vespers settings by composers Giovanni Legrenzi and Johann Rosenmüller, conducted by Simon Carrington. In 2013 he worked with conductor Masaaki Suzuki as the bass soloist in performances of J.S. Bach's cantatas (BWV 106 and BWV 150) as well as J.S. Bach's Mass in B Minor (BWV 232), which he performed on a concert tour of Japan and Singapore, his hometown. In the summer of 2013 he was a bass soloist in American Bach Soloists Academy performances of Biber’s Missa Salisburgensis, G.F. Handel's Esther, and J.S. Bach's Mass in B Minor (BWV 232) under the baton of conductor Jeffrey Thomas. In March 2014 he reprised the role of Harapha in G.F. Handel Samson with Nicholas McGegan and the American Classical Orchestra in his Lincoln Center debut. In April 2014 he returned to the stage of Alice Tully Hall as the bass soloist in J.S. Bach's Johannes-Passion (BWV 245) with Yale Schola Cantorum, Juilliard415, and Masaaki Suzuki. In May 2014, he was also the bass soloist in Haydn's Harmoniemesse with conductor David Hill. He is currently based in New York City, where he frequently sings as a substitute with the Saint Thomas Choir of Men & Boys.
Andrew Padgett is also an avid interpreter of medieval music, both as a vocalist and hurdy-gurdy player, and has had the opportunity to study and perform with leading experts in the field. In 2012 he worked with Susan Hellauer, a founding member of Anonymous 4, on a performance based on the plainchant First Vespers for Christmas with polyphonic selections from the Las Huelgas Codex. In the summer of 2013 he attended Early Music Vancouver’s Mediaeval Programme, where he worked with members of the medieval music ensemble Sequentia and its founder, Benjamin Bagby, on a performance entitled The Unknown “Carmina Burana”, featuring 12th-century music from the collection of medieval songs now known as the Carmina Burana. He is the founder and artistic director of Ensemble ÆVUM, a musical project dedicated to the performance of rarely-heard Western music from the 15th century and earlier. In November 2014 they presented Carmina Gothica, a performance featuring 12th and 13th century songs from Paris and Aquitaine. |
