The local arts scene gets a major boost this September as acclaimed tenor Brian Giebler takes the stage. Described by The New York Times as having a “lovely tone and deep expressivity,” Giebler is one of the most sought-after voices of his generation.
A specialist in Baroque and Classical repertoire, Giebler has garnered "Critics Choice" honors from Opera News and a GRAMMY® nomination for his debut solo album. Whether you are a longtime opera devotee or a newcomer to the concert hall, his "shine and clarity" make this a must-see event of the season.
Praised for his “lovely tone and deep expressivity” by The New York Times, GRAMMY® nominated tenor Brian Giebler radiates “shine and clarity” (Opera News) in every phrase using “his high-placed tenor with great skill” (Opera Magazine). His debut solo album a lad's love garnered high praise from such publications as Gramophone, Opera News (Critics Choice), andSan Francisco Classical Voice, and earned him his first GRAMMY® Award nomination for Best Classical Solo Vocal Album. His second album with pianist Steven McGhee entitled a dad’s love will be commercially available in 2026.
Quickly establishing himself as one of the most sought-after interpreters of the Roasted Swan in Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana, Mr. Giebler has recently performed the work to great acclaim with the Austin, Boise, Colorado, Knoxville, Milwaukee (cond. Ken-David Masur) Vermont, and Virginia Symphony Orchestras (cond. Eric Jacobsen). Equally engaged for Handel’s Messiah, he has performed the work with Music of the Baroque (cond. Nicholas Kraemer–live recording available), American Bach Soloists, internationally in South Korea with the Seoul Metropolitan Chorus, Trinity Wall Street (cond. Dame Jane Glover), and with the Asheville, Charleston, Charlotte, Memphis (cond. Robert Moody), Naples, National Philharmonic, Rhode Island, and Virginia Symphony Orchestras. He has sung Mozart’s Requiem with the Austin Symphony, Carmel Bach Festival, Savannah Philharmonic, and at Carnegie Hall.
Acknowledged as a specialist in the music of the Baroque and Classical periods, Mr. Giebler has been heard as Apollo in Handel’s Semele with The English Concert in an international tour under Harry Bicket; Septimius in Handel’s Theodora with Ars Lyrica Houston; Aeneas in Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas with Atlanta Baroque Orchestra; in Desmerest’s Circé and Caccini’s Alcina with Boston Early Music Festival; and as Arnalta in Monteverdi’s L'incoronazione di Poppea with Boston Baroque. Highlights of early music in recent seasons include: Evangelist in Bach’s St. Matthew and St. John Passions (Voices of Ascension; Trinity Wall Street); Bach’s B Minor Mass at Carnegie Hall with the Oratorio Society of New York, the Carmel Bach Festival (cond. Grete Pedersen), the Sebastians, and Clarion Music Society (cond. Steven Fox); Bach Cantatas with the Grand Rapids Symphony, and Handel & Haydn Society under Harry Christophers; a tour of the Ravinia and Caramoor Festivals singing Monteverdi with Apollo’s Fire and Jeannette Sorrell; and his France debut with Ensemble Correspondances under Sébastien Daucé and Germany debut with BEMF singing Charpentier’s Les Plaisirs.
Championing new works, Mr. Giebler has been seen in diverse roles such as Matthewin Craig Hella Johnson’s Considering Matthew Shepard with Conspirare, Trinity Wall Street, and the Oregon Bach Festival; Adam in Wachner’s REV 23 at the Prototype Festival (cond. Daniela Candillari); and Iff the Water Genie in Wuorinen’s Haroun and the Sea of Stories with Boston Modern Orchestra Project (available on recording).
“The sweetness of Giebler's impressive high tenor” and his "expressive and elegant phrasing" (Cleveland Classical) has been heard singing Stravinsky with the Cleveland Orchestra under Franz Welser-Möst; Haydn’s Creation with the Santa Fe and Princeton Pro Musicas; Haydn’s Paukenmesse with the Colorado Symphony; Mendelssohn’s Elijah with Baltimore Choral Arts; Mozart’s C Minor Mass at Lincoln Center with American Classical Orchestra; and as a frequent collaborator with Mark Morris Dance Group, singing the choreographer’s iconic version of Handel’s L’Allegro, il Penseroso at the Brooklyn Academy of Music and a solo performance of Erik Satie’s Socrate at Cal Performances.
GRAMMY® nominated collaborative pianist Steven McGhee is part of the creative fabric of metro Detroit as a performer, music director, and educator. With his “characterful underpinning” and “expressive, ruminative performance” (Cleveland Classical) Dr. McGhee has collaborated with opera singers such as Christine Goerke, Jonathan and Caitlin Lynch, Kyle Stegall, Leann Schuering and Brian Giebler.
For ten years, he served as music director for Opera MODO’s innovative and impactful site-specific productions in the Motor City. A “superb anchor” that “shapes with elegant beauty” (Gramophone), he has appeared in recitals with the Carmel Bach Festival, Tucson’s True Concord Voices series, Ann Arbor’s Kerrytown Concert House, The Yale Institute for British Art, the Casement Fund Song Series in New York, the Cleveland Art Song Festival, and the Britten-Pears Institute in Aldeburgh, England. His long-standing partnership with tenor Brian Giebler is noted for their “original, compelling” (Opera News) programming which led to a GRAMMY® nomination (Best Solo Vocal) for their 2020 album a lad’s love on Bridge Records. This collaboration in which “neither singer nor pianist leads or follows” (Voix Des Arts) has allowed for “vivid conversation” (Gramphone). The duo will release their second album together entitled a dad’s love later this year. A sought-after coach and educator, Dr. McGhee has taught at the University of Michigan, New York University, LIU Post, and Wayne State University, and currently teaches at The Roeper School.