Singer – Christian Baldini's Interviews

On Friday, March 6, I will conduct Beethoven’s only oratorio, ”Christus am Ölberge” (”Christ on the Mount of Olives”) at the Mondavi Center with the UC Davis Symphony Orchestra and University Chorus, on a program that will also include Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 4, with Andrei Baumann, and the world première of “what remains” by composer Laurie San Martin. Below is a brief Q&A session with one of our three vocal soloists, tenor Kyle Stegall. Click on these links for interviews with Ms. Piccolino and Mr. Yoder.

Christian Baldini: Please tell us about your education and training. How did you start with music, and when did you decide to become a singer?

Kyle Stegall: I’ve been interested in professional singing and in teaching singing since my senior year of high school. All three of my degrees are in Vocal Performance, and were granted by the Universities of Missouri, Michigan, and Yale. My passion for communication is what has driven my studies, and the development of my performance and teaching career.

CB: What do you find remarkable about this work by Beethoven? What are your favorite moments in it?

KS: I am so looking forward to performing this dramatic and heroic work with Maestro Baldini and the musical forces at UC-Davis. I am particularly fond of the moment in which the clarinet introduces the prayer theme in Christ’s opening aria.

CB: What are some of your favorite pieces of music, whether in the operatic realm, chamber music, or on the concert platform? Which works would you like to be singing next?

KS: I am lucky to have a career engaged with a great breadth of the classical repertoire. I sing opera, recital, and concert work in equal proportions, which is actually quite rare. I value the opportunity to communicate in such varied stylistic-idioms and performance environments. Everything from the haute-contre repertoire of the French Baroque to world premieres of new repertoire for the solo voice, to staples of the recital canon, to large orchestrated works such as Christus am Oelberge hold consistent spots in my performance seasons. I am particularly fond of the Bach evangelists, the cycles of Benjamin Britten, and orchestrated masses/oratorios of the classical and bel canto repertoire. I’d like to find a spot for Britten’s War Requiem and Berlioz’ Les Nuits d’ete in coming seasons.

CB: What does art, and music in particular, mean to you? Is it relevant in our society today?

KS: Art and music are and will forever be relevant. Art is an intensely potent force for awakening in large numbers of people a dormant respect for our shared, vulnerable humanity. What our world needs is community. What our world needs is emotional honesty. Music is the crystallized sonic manifestation of these things. The question isn’t whether or not art is relevant. The question is whether or not we will make room in our hearts, budgets, schedules, and priorities for it.

Kyle Stegall2 — tenor Kyle Stegall (courtesy photo)

Kyle Stegall’s performances around the world have been met with accolade for his “blemish-free production” (Sydney Morning Herald), and his “dramatic vividness” (St. Louis Post-Dispatch). A career spanning concert, opera, and recital stages has grown out of successful collaborations with many of the world’s most celebrated artistic directors including Manfred Honeck, Joseph Flummerfelt, Masaaki Suzuki, William Christie, and Stephen Stubbs.

In demand as an opera and concert soloist, Mr. Stegall is a celebrated interpreter of the Bach evangelists, and is often heard in the great oratorios of Handel and Haydn. His operatic repertoire spans the haute-contre heroes of the French Baroque to modern premieres.

Mr. Stegall is a proud alumnus of the universities of Missouri, Michigan, and Yale.

@stegalltenor http://kylestegall.com

On Friday, March 6, I will conduct Beethoven’s only oratorio, ”Christus am Ölberge” (”Christ on the Mount of Olives”) at the Mondavi Center with the UC Davis Symphony Orchestra and University Chorus, on a program that will also include Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 4, with Andrei Baumann, and the world première of “what remains” by composer Laurie San Martin. Below is a brief Q&A session with one of our three vocal soloists, bass-baritone Daniel Yoder. Click on these links for interviews with Ms. Piccolino and Mr. Stegall.

Christian Baldini: Please tell us about your education and training. How did you start with music, and when did you decide to become a singer?

Daniel Yoder: My musical training started in 5th grade when I first held my trumpet and began assailing my family with the unavoidable tones of the beginning trumpet player. Thankfully, I became proficient and learned the French horn, piano, and drums. Music was always in the house, and I basked in all genres of music. I began singing in the chairs and less of my church and then began singing in the choir.

CB: What do you find remarkable about this work by Beethoven? What are your favorite moments in it?

DY: What I find most appealing about this work is the operatic quality of the music, which serves to convey the gravity and value of the libretto and Messianic message. As a Christian, I feel the textures and strength of the composition help the listener and performer alike understand the highs and lows of the drama preceding the coming Crucifixion and Resurrection.

CB: What does art, and music in particular, mean to you? Is it relevant in our society today?

DY: Art, and the free expression of it in its many forms, is indispensable to me. Society only benefits from the ability to sing, paint, sculpt, and it is a blessing to have the opportunity, as artists, to share what is inside us with the world. While math and the sciences have their intrinsic value in society, art has its relevance in its ability to transform, edify, calm, encourage, and challenge us as humans.

Native-American bass-baritone Daniel Yoder is delighted to be singing again with the UCDavis family! He is a member of the San Francisco Opera Chorus, and has performed recently with companies including West Edge Opera, Pocket Opera, Diablo Symphony, Fresno Grand Opera, Sacramento Choral Society, Music in the Mountains, Sacramento Opera, Sinfonia Spirituosa, and Capella Antiqua of Sacramento.

Mr. Yoder has performed the bass solos of Handel’s Messiah, as well as the Requiems of Mozart, Fauré, Duruflé, and Malcolm Archer. He has also recently performed the Mozart Mass in C.

Favorite operatic roles include Zurga in Bizet’s The Pearl Fishers, Gugliermo in Mozart’s Cosi fan tutti, Figaro in Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro, Silvio in Leoncavallo’s Pagliacci, Leporello and Masetto in Mozart’s Don Giovanni, Achilla in Handel’s Giulio Cesare, Betto in Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi, and Claudius in Handel’s Agrippina.

Tag: Singer

Kyle Stegall in Conversation with Christian Baldini

Daniel Yoder in Conversation with Christian Baldini