Baritone Nathan Gunn to Present Filene Gala Concert

Nathan Gunn, recognized as one of America’s most exciting young baritones, will present this year’s Filene Gala Concert at 8 p.m. Friday, Feb. 7, in Filene Recital Hall.

The program will include French and American songs by Duparc, Poulenc, Ibert, John Musto, Samuel Barber, and Charles Ives, as well as a selection of American ballads and folk songs. Admission is $5 for adults, $2 for students and senior citizens.

Skidmore Senior Artist-in-Residence Anne Turner calls Gunn “a fresh and exciting” artist, noting that he has had a number of impressive performances to date. Gunn has already made important debuts at the Lyric Opera of Chicago and the Metropolitan Opera, and has sung with many other prominent opera houses both in the U.S. and abroad. He has appeared as soloist under Robert Shaw, and with many important American orchestras, including the New York Philharmonic and the Chicago and Boston symphony orchestras.

A prolific recitalist with a deep commitment to art song, Gunn has made recital debuts in New York and in London at Weill Recital Hall and Wigmore Hall, and was featured in John Wustman’s seven-year project of Schubert song performances, which concluded in 1997. Turner recalled that Gunn’s appearance in one of these programs at the University at Albany featured an “unforgettable” rendition of “Erlkönig.”

Gunn’s first recital disc, American Anthem (EMI), includes the works of exciting young American songwriters as well as traditional American folk songs.

He received a bachelor’s degree in music from the University of Illinois. The winner of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Competition in 1994, he also received the 1998 ARIA award, a 1997 Tucker Foundation Career Grant, the 1996 Marian Anderson Award, the Pope Foundation Music Award, and the St. Louis Symphony Young Artist Competition in 1992.

At Skidmore, Gunn will be accompanied by his wife, Julie, who has arranged a number of selections for the performance. In addition to the Feb. 7 recital, Gunn will lead a free master class starting at 10 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 8, in Filene Recital Hall.

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