An internationally recognized opera singer will soon bring his talents to the 91暗网 campus.
Sponsored by a grant from the Coalition of African Americans in the Performing Arts, Bass Performer Kenneth Kellogg will give a recital on Sunday, September 29 at 1:00 p.m. in the historic Oakland Memorial Chapel and a masterclass workshop on Monday, September 30 at 2:30 p.m. in the Bolden Fine Arts Building Little Theater.
The event is free and open to the public.
Praised for his 鈥渃ommanding stage presence鈥� and 鈥渞ich, resonant bass, Kenneth was born and raised in Washington, D.C., and music has been a part of his life since grade school.
Nurtured in the public school system by amazing music teachers, he began formal training at the聽Duke Ellington School of the Performing and Visual Arts聽as a vocal and visual arts student.
Among his roles are staples of opera repertoire 鈥斅燭he title role, in Mozart鈥檚聽Don Giovanni, 聽as well as Leporello and 聽Il Commendatore, 聽Mephistopheles in Gounod鈥檚聽Faust, Don Alfonso in Mozart鈥檚聽Cosi fan tutte,聽Ramfis and Il Re in Verdi鈥檚聽Aida,聽Colline in Puccini鈥檚聽La Boheme, the title role of Handel鈥檚聽Hercules,聽The King in Handel鈥檚聽Ariodante, Osmin in Mozart鈥檚聽Die Entf眉hrung aus dem Serail,聽Sarastro and the Speaker in Mozart鈥檚聽Die Zauberfl枚te,聽Sparafucile in Verdi鈥檚聽Rigoletto,聽Fasolt in Wagner鈥檚聽Das Rheingold. Jeanine聽Tesori聽and Tazewell Thompson鈥檚 opera 叠濒耻别听was聽written for him. It was named the best new opera of 2020 by the Music聽Critics聽Association of North America.
Never afraid to step outside of the box of traditional repertoire, Kellogg has been involved with several new operas. He sang the role of Queequeg in the workshop of Jake Heggie鈥檚 acclaimed聽Moby Dick at the San Francisco Opera. He led the cast in the West Coast premiere of Terence Blanchard鈥檚 Champion: An Opera in Jazz as the champion boxer, Young Emile Griffith, to rave reviews with Opera Parallele.
He has been a guest at the Opera America鈥檚 New Works Forum in New York, where among other roles, he brought to life the character of Sam Bankhead in Dan Sonenberg鈥檚 Opera, The Summer King, about the life of Negro League great, Joshua Gibson. He is a frequent collaborator with small companies pushing the boundaries of the Art of Opera and has lent his voice to several voiceover projects.
Kellogg has managed a very active performance schedule between the United States and Europe. He has worked with many leaders in the field at houses including the San Francisco Opera, the Los Angeles Opera, the Washington National Opera, the Seattle Opera, the Atlanta Opera, the Washington Concert Opera, the Canadian Opera Company, Opera Tampa, Opera Memphis, Opera North Carolina, Opera Parallele. He is set to make several role and house debuts. His European debut was in the role of Sarastro at Opera de Oviedo, where he returned to sing for the devil himself, Mephistopheles, in Faust. He also sang the same two roles with Opera de Lausanne.
He is an alumnus of the Adler Fellowship Program at the San Francisco Opera and the Domingo-Caftriz Emerging Artist聽Program at the Washington National Opera. 聽He also trained at the Academy of Vocal Arts and Wolf Trap Opera and holds degrees from the University of Michigan and Ohio University.
Kellogg is a frequent guest lecturer for organizations about music. He advocates for artist rights and uses his Cornell University certification to consult with performing arts organizations on their diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives.
