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Baritone William Sharp is a consummate artist possessing the rare combination of vocal beauty, sensitivity, and charisma. Praised by the New York Times as a "sensitive and subtle singer" who is able to evoke "the special character of every song that he sings," Mr. Sharp has earned a reputation as a singer of great versatility and continues to garner critical acclaim for his work in concerts, recitals, operas, and recordings.

William Sharp is engaged to sing with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, under Marin Alsop, in Copland's "Old American Songs" in season 2011-12. In the 2010-11 season he created the role of Cosimo in the world premiere of John Musto's The Inspector with Wolf Trap Opera to rave reviews; performed as soloist in the world premiere of "Amichai Songs" by David Froom for the River Concert Series (Maryland); and sang Bach, Bernstein, Britten, and Paulus compositions with the Bach Choir of Bethlehem (to be recorded).

Recent past highlights include a return to New York Festival of Song in a concert titled "Where We Came From:" "A Bernstein & Bolcom Celebration," also with New York Festival of Song; Bach Cantata 21, Mass in B Minor, and Paulus' A Dream of Time in a return to the Bethlehem Bach Festival; an appearance with Boston Early Music Festival in the modern world premiere of Graupner's Antiochus und Stratonica; return engagements to Caramoor, singing Schumann's Liederkreis with pianist Vladimir Feltsman, to New York Festival of Song in a program called "No Song is Safe from Us," and to the Bethlehem Bach Festival in St. Matthew Passion, Cantatas 198 and 74, also Mass in B Minor (with the Washington Bach Consort and Cathedral Choral Society, as well); singing as soloist in St. Matthew Passion with Music of the Baroque; and as soloist at the Washington National Cathedral in Handel's Messiah and Bach's St. John Passion. In Germany, with Deutsches Symphonie Orchester Berlin, he performed Scott Wheeler's The Palace at Four A. M.

Other recent successes include appearances as soloist with the National Philharmonic in Brahms's Ein deutsches Requiem, with the New York Festival of Song in "Godmothers of Song," with the Cathedral Choral Society in Britten's War Requiem, with the Bethlehem Bach Festival in various cantatas and Bach's Christmas Oratorio, programs of Schubert songs and works by John Musto at the Caramoor Festival, the world premiere of Anthony Brandt's The Birth of Something in a return to Da Camera Society of Houston, Bach's St. John Passion with the Baldwin Wallace Bach Festival, return engagements at Tafelmusik, and a special presentation with the Vocal Arts Society at the Smithsonian Institution. Other recent credits include John Adams's The Nixon Tapes with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, David del Tredici's Gay Life with the San Francisco Symphony, Chou En-Lai in Nixon in China with the Brooklyn Philharmonic, Four Saints in Three Acts with the Mark Morris Dance Group at the Brooklyn Academy of Music and at Cal Performances in Berkeley, and Purcell's Dido and Aeneas, also with the Mark Morris Dance Group. Overseas he has performed Sam in Trouble in Tahiti with VARA Radio in the Netherlands.

Mr. Sharp was nominated for a 1989 Grammy award for Best Classical Vocal Performance for his recording featuring the works of American composers such as Virgil Thomson and Lee Hoiby on the New World Records label. He can also be heard on the 1990 Grammy award-winning, world premiere recording of Leonard Bernstein's Arias and Barcarolles on the Koch International label. Other recordings include the songs of Marc Blitzstein with The New York Festival of Song (Koch), J.S. Bach solo cantatas with the American Bach Soloists (Koch), and, in collaboration with soprano Judith Kaye and pianist Steven Blier, on Gershwin's Songs and Duets. Mr. Sharp has also recorded for Vox-Turnabout, Newport Classics, Columbia Records, Nonesuch, and CRI. He is the Chorus I bass in Kenneth Slowik's recording of J. S. Bach's St. Matthew Passion, to be released later this season on the Friends of Music label.

Visit William Sharp's homepage at: http://www.barrettvantage.com/artist.php?id=wsharp&aview=bio