Martin Bakari
Tenor
Praised by Opera News as a "vocally charismatic" performer with a "golden tenor,” Martin Bakari continues to distinguish himself as a dynamic artist in a wide array of musical and theatrical genres. He has sung operatic roles spanning from Ferrando in Cosí fan tutte to the titular jazz saxophonist in Charlie Parker's Yardbird with companies throughout the US and abroad. As a concert soloist, he has had multiple engagements at Carnegie Hall in repertoire including Messiah, Carmina Burana, and the premiere of Moravec and Campbell's A Nation of Others. Outside the world of classical music, Bakari toured nationally with Wynton Marsalis and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra performing and recording Marsalis' Abyssinian Mass. Internationally, he has appeared at major venues in cities such as Munich, Hamburg, Dresden, Frankfurt, Cologne, Tel Aviv, Bari, Tokyo, and Kyoto. His recording of Grigory Smirnov's Dowson Songs (Naxos) was featured by Opera News as a "Critic's Choice" album. A Juilliard and Boston University graduate and George London Competition award winner, Bakari is a Seattle native and makes his MOR debut in Lori Laitman's Vedem.