Aaron Sheehan | |
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Born | 1975 (age 49–50) Janesville, Minnesota |
Occupation | Opera singer |
Years active | 2001–present |
Website | aaronsheehantenor.com |
Aaron Sheehan (born 1975) is an American classical singer (tenor) and professor of music who has been described as one of "the leading Early Music singers in the world". [1] He was one of the recipients of the 2015 Grammy Award for Best Opera Recording.
A native of Janesville, Minnesota, Sheehan began singing in 1994, his final year at Janesville-Waldorf-Pemberton High School, after spending his early years as an instrumental musician. [2] He continued singing at Luther College, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts, and went on to receive a Master of Music in early music performance at Indiana University Bloomington. [2] [3]
Following graduate school, Sheehan moved to Boston, Massachusetts, to launch his professional singing career. [2] His opera debut came in 2005 when he appeared as Ivan in the Boston Early Music Festival's premiere of Johann Mattheson's Boris Goudenow. [4] Sheehan went on to tour and perform extensively in Europe, South America, and the United States. [4]
Sheehan performed on the Boston Early Music Festival's recording of Charpentier ’s La descente d'Orphée aux enfers , which received the Grammy Award for Best Opera Recording in 2015. The following year he appeared on two recordings nominated for the Grammy for Best Opera Recording: Il ritorno d'Ulisse in patria (with Boston Baroque) and Niobe, regina di Tebe (with the Boston Early Music Festival). [5]
As of 2017, Sheehan is teaching at Boston University as lecturer in Music, Historical Performance, Voice. [6] He also teaches voice at Wellesley College. [1]
According to Sheehan, he has been most inspired by Aksel Schiøtz and Anthony Rolfe Johnson. [4]
Sheehan has been described as "one of the leading Early Music singers in the world" by Marion Dry, the director of Wellesley College's music performance program. [1] The Boston Globe has lauded Sheehan as "superb: his tone classy, clear, and refined, encompassing fluid lyricism and ringing force". [7] In a review of the Boston Early Music Festival's 2015 staging of Monteverdi's L'Orfeo , The New York Times wrote that Sheehan "brought shining quality and deep sensitivity to the title role". [8] During the Dallas Bach Society's performance of Messiah , the Dallas Morning News called Sheehan the "best of the soloists", describing him as having an "agreeably fibrous tenor deployed to great expressive effect". [9]
Sheehan has three siblings. [10]