Biography
Barrett Radziun reaches audiences by combining his “silvery tenor” (The Berkshire Edge) with a stage presence that is “elegant and profound…with poise and maturity that betrays his youth” (The Berkshire Edge). Critics hail the Minnesota native as “brilliant in his solo performances” (Cleveland Classical), “effortless in rendering sensitivity” (Boston Musical Intellegencer), and as a “rising star” (The Millbrook Independent). Following his 2017 Meyerson Symphony Center debut as tenor soloist in Handel's Messiah with Dallas Bach Society, the Dallas Morning News wrote, "Star of the evening was Barrett Radziun, his lyric tenor bright and clear, his diction impeccable, his words and phrases vividly colored and shaped." Radziun returned to the Meyerson in 2021, singing Handel to critical acclaim.
Radziun’s 2022-2023 season will include performances as tenor soloist in Handel’s Messiah with Dallas Bach Society, as well as performances with Verdigris Ensemble and Orpheus Chamber Singers.
Other recent performances have included Radziun’s American Baroque Opera Company debut as the titular Trojan prince in Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas, tenor soloist in Mozart's Requiem with the Highland Park Chorale and Orchestra (Dallas, TX), and tenor soloist in Bach's Cantata BWV 78 as part of the Transfigured Nights concert series at Church of the Transfiguration in Dallas, TX.
The diversity of Radziun’s repertoire has established him as a sought-after singer for both solo and ensemble engagements. His affinity for early music has led him to performances as soloist in Bach’s St. John Passion, Monteverdi’s Vespro della Beata Vergine, Telemann’s Der Geduldige Socrates, Charpentier’s Te Deum, and in a concert of Franco-Flemish music under the direction of Peter Phillips (in conjunction with the Tallis Scholars Summer School). Radziun also appeared as tenor soloist in Bach’s Cantata BWV 155 under the direction of John Harbison in Seiji Ozawa Hall at Tanglewood. In March 2017, Radziun made his debut with the Austin Baroque Orchestra singing the Evangelist in Bach’s St. John Passion. As a pioneer of contemporary compositions, Radziun has premiered works by David Lang (Where You Go, 2015), Elena Langer (Four Sisters, 2012) and Andrés Martínez de Velasco (Una Línea, 2012).
Radziun made his New York City debut at the Morgan Library in a program titled First Songs: Dawn Upshaw and the Bard Graduate Vocal Arts Program World Premieres, performing works by Aaron Jay Kernis and Bard Colleague Martínez de Velasco. Radziun also shared the stage of the Richard B. Fisher Center for the Performing Arts with Ms. Upshaw, his mentor, in a program titled Dawn Upshaw and Friends: A Winter SongFest, singing works by Rogers & Hart and Marc Blitzstein. As a chamber musician, Radziun has been heard in performances of Britten’s Canticle Still Falls the Rain, Messiaen’s La Mort du Nombre, and various chamber works of J.S. Bach.
As an ensemble singer, Radziun has performed with Incarnatus (Dallas, TX) Orpheus Chamber Singers (Dallas, TX), Verdigris Ensemble (Dallas, TX), and the GRAMMY nominated South Dakota Chorale (Sioux Falls, SD), the latter with whom he has recorded (Marcel Tyberg: Music Lost in the Holocaust) on the Pentatone label. Radziun received his education at the University of North Texas (DMA), the Bard College Conservatory of Music (MM), and the University of Northwestern – St. Paul (BM). He is an alumnus of the Tanglewood Music Center, SongFest, the Hawaii Performing Arts Festival, Pacific Music Work’s Accademia d’Amore, the Oberlin Baroque Performance Institute, and Amherst Early Music Festival. In 2017, he joined the voice faculty at Texas A&M University – Commerce, where he currently serves as Assistant Professor Professional Track – Voice.