Edward Atkinson is a Canadian-American tenor, choral conductor, and educator. He is deeply passionate about offering children a rock solid foundation in music fundamentals, that they can carry with them for the rest of their life. In addition, the musical culture of the Catholic Church is extraordinary in both depth and scope, and he hopes to pass on a deep love for our musical traditions. He has sung with and conducted professional choirs in classical, Renaissance, jazz a cappella, operatic, modern choral, and barbershop styles. He recently conducted and produced the Saint Ambrose Schola Cantorum's debut album
Restoration (
stambroseschola.com). As a tenor soloist, Edward has sung leading roles in musicals and operas, including Godspell, Pippin, It's A Wonderful Life, Peter Grimes, Dead Man Walking, La Bohème, La Rondine, The Last Savage, Amelia al ballo, Die Zauberflöte, Le Nozze di Figaro, Don Giovanni, and Die Entführung aus dem Serail. In the orchestral arena, Edward has co-starred alongside Metropolitan Opera stars Jane Dutton and Timothy Noble, and many other notable performers. Solo orchestral repertoire includes Verdi's
Requiem, Mozart's
Requiem, Rossini’s
Petite Messe Solennelle, Handel's
Messiah, Handel's
Parnasso in Festa, Britten’s
Canticle II: Abraham & Isaac, Britten’s Serenade for Tenor, Horn, & Strings, and Debussy’s
Trois chansons de Charles d’Orleans. Edward has won various awards throughout his musical career from universities, cultural institutions, and competitions, including First Place and Grand Prize from the Matinee Musicale Competition and the Donald Felton Memorial Award from the National Society of Arts and Letters. Edward earned his B.M. in Organ Performance from Mercer University, his M.M. in Vocal Performance from Indiana University, and his P.D. in Vocal Performance from Indiana University. Edward is a musical omnivore and enjoys music written in both 300 A.D. and 2019. When not making music, Edward loves to cook with his wife, Maile, and play with his son, Max.