Wayne Pope

Background

About Wayne Pope

Wayne Pope, baritone An experienced concert and recital artist, Wayne Pope has shared his “rich, clear baritone voice” with audiences throughout the US, Italy, Bulgaria, Israel and England. He has been featured with the South Carolina Philharmonic Orchestra, South Arkansas Symphony, Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra, Bowling Green Western Symphony Orchestra, Bowling Green Chamber Orchestra, and Orchestra Kentucky. His concert repertoire includes works such as Brahms’ Ein Deutsches Requiem, Handel’s Messiah, Mozart’s Requiem, Vaughan Williams’ Dona nobis pacem and Five Mystical Songs, and Beethoven’s Christ on the Mount of Olives as well as standard masses by Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven. He has appeared with numerous choral groups including South Carolina’s Musical Ambassadors, The Palmetto Mastersingers (80 voice male chorus). His performance of Vaughan Williams’ Fantasia On Christmas Carols with the South Arkansas Symphony, under the direction of Kermit Polling, was featured on National Public Radio’s Performance Today with Martin Goldsmith. His opera credits include leading roles with Columbia Lyric Opera, Orchestra Kentucky, and The Colorado Music Festival, as well as various university guest artist appearances. Opera premiers include Richard Green’s The Palace of Ice and William Underwood’s The Picture of Dorian Grey. In 1990 he was the winner of South Carolina’s National Association of Teachers of Singing Artist Award. In April of 2004 he returned to South Carolina where he performed the title role in the world premiere of The Martyrdom of Saint Polycarp by the noted film and television composer JAC Redford. Subsequent performances of Redford’s oratorio included an Italian tour and premiere at the Chiesa Nuova (the birthplace of oratorio) for Rome’s annual Oratorio Festival. He is currently Associate Professor of Voice at Western Kentucky University where he is the Director of Opera Theatre and Coordinator of Vocal Studies.