Charles Brown

About

Charles Samuel Brown (1940-2021), bass/baritone, first studied voice with his church choir director, Brazeal W. Dennard, in his hometown of Detroit, Michigan.   He later studied with Willis L. James at Morehouse College and with John McCollum at the University of Michigan, from which he graduated with a Masters degree in Voice Performance.  He also had a period of study with Adele Addison after moving to New York in 1980.  Over the past forty years, he has combined a busy teaching career with solo and professional choral singing.  He sang the role of King Balthazar in the Polish premiere of Gian Carlo Menotti’s Amahl and the Night Visitors (1980) in Warsaw, and he was a member of the highly acclaimed chorus of the first production of Porgy and Bess (1984) at the Metropolitan Opera.  For two seasons he was a back-up vocalist for Ray Charles in Fool For You, a dance suite choreographed by Peter Martin for the New York City Ballet, and for Cab Calloway’s eightieth birthday celebration at Carnegie Hall.  He has sung back-up vocals with Quincy Jones, and with the digital image of Elvis Presley at Radio City Music Hall.  His opera roles include Sarastro in Mozart’s The Magic Flute, Dr. Bartolo in The Marriage of Figaro and Frank in Johann Strauss’ Die Fledermaus.  He was the Abbot in Benjamin Britten’s opera Curlew River and the Narrator in The Play of Daniel, both productions at The Church of the Transfiguration in New York City.  Most recently he sang the role of Judge Thomas Crain in the first performances of Leonard Lehrman’s opera The Triangle Fire (2017).  He has taught at Lincoln University of Missouri, the Borough of Manhattan Community College and in the New York City Public Schools.  He is also a composer and arranger with several solo and choral editions in publication.

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Works by Charles Brown