A tenor voice of “clarion tone and operatic power” is quickly bringing
Joel Burcham to the attention of conductors and directors throughout the
Midwest. His growing list of venues
includes Madison Opera, Cedar Rapids Opera Theatre, Opera Omaha and Central
City Opera. His Pang with Madison Opera
received “top marks for both musical capabilities and humor.”
Mr. Burcham made his professional operatic debut when, as the
understudy apprentice artist, he was given the opportunity to sang Lindoro in L’Italiana
in Algeri for Central City Opera.
Other operatic roles include Ernesto in Don Pasquale, Ferrando in
Cosi fan tutte, and Don Ramiro in La Cenerentola.
This season includes the tenor soloist in the Lloyd
Webber Requiem with Wichita Symphony, his Madison Symphony debut as the
tenor soloist in Carmina Burana, and the role of Philippe in Romberg's The
New Moon at the Music by the Lake festival in Lake Geneva. In 2008, Mr.
Burcham will return to Madison Opera to sing Martin in Copeland's The
Tenderland.
Following his debut with the Utah Symphony in Beethoven’s Mass in C
he was asked to return for a performance of Messiah. He has also enjoyed a return engagement with
the Omaha Symphony as a participant in their 2003 and 2005 Choral
Collaborative, a concert featuring operatic excerpts for soloist and
chorus. He has performed Britten’s Serenade
for Tenor and Horn with the Camerata Orchestra.
With degrees from Southern Illinois University - Edwardsville and the
University of Arkansas, Mr. Burcham serves on the voice faculty at the
University of Colorado-Boulder.
