John Wesley Wright

Tenor John Wesley Wright is known for his artistic and soulful interpretations of music from baroque to Broadway. Holding degrees from Maryville College and the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, John has performed a nationally televised concert for the Belgian Royal Family and toured as a soloist and in professional ensembles throughout the United States, Europe, and Japan.

With a host of opera and oratorio roles, art songs, spirituals, and cabaret music in his repertoire, Wright is a member of the acclaimed American Spiritual Ensemble and is highlighted in the recent PBS documentary “The Spirituals: Featuring the American Spiritual Ensemble”, released nationally in 2007. In addition to recording and touring with the American Spiritual Ensemble, Wright most recently performed a Rodgers and Hammerstein program with Greensboro Opera and Eastern Music Festival, and was guest artist with the Atlanta Gay Men’s Chorus in their production of Lush Life: A Tribute to Billy Strayhorn.  This past spring he sang the title role and tenor solos in Bach’s St. John Passion with the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra and returns to the DPO in spring 2010 as a soloist for Monteverdi’s Vespers of 1610. Wright also debuts with the Delaware Choral Society this season with Bach’s Christmas Oratorio.

Mr. Wright is gold medalist and top prizewinner of the Savannah Music Festival American Traditions Vocal Competition 2000 and has also claimed top prizes from the National Federation of Music Clubs, Metropolitan Opera National Council, Bel Canto Regional Artists, Ohio’s Vocal Resource Network Art Song Competition, and the International Schubert Competition in Vienna, Austria.

A native of Rome, Georgia, John is a member of the National Association of Teachers of Singing and is an active vocal consultant, clinician, and leader of workshops on African American Song Tradition in schools, churches, and colleges. John served as Artist-in-Residence at the University of Dayton for eight years and has spent summers as a guest artist, teacher and stage director at the North Carolina School of the Arts, the Kentucky Governor’s School and most recently, the Maryland Summer Center for the Arts held at Salisbury University. Wright joined the Salisbury University music faculty in fall of 2006 where he coordinates the voice area, teaches private voice and directs the Opera Workshop.

Fulton Hall (FH) 240
Phone: 410-5436214
Email: jwwright@salisbury.edu
Website: www.johnwesleywright.com