Aaron Sheehan
{{short description|American opera singer}}
{{for|the Irish hurler|Aaron Sheehan (hurler)}}
{{Infobox person
| honorific_prefix =
| name = Aaron Sheehan
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| birth_date = {{birth year and age|1975}}
| birth_place = Janesville, Minnesota
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| occupation = Opera singer
| years_active = 2001–present
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| website = {{URL|http://www.aaronsheehantenor.com/|aaronsheehantenor.com}}
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Aaron Sheehan (born 1975) is an American vocal tenor and professor of music who has been described as one of "the leading Early Music singers in the world". He was one of the recipients of the 2015 Grammy Award for Best Opera Recording.
Early life and education
A native of Janesville, Minnesota, Sheehan began singing in 1994, his final year at Janesville-Waldorf-Pemberton High School, after spending his early years as an instrumental musician. He continued singing at Luther College, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts, and went on to receive a Master of Music in early music performance at Indiana University Bloomington.{{cite web|title=Bio|url=http://www.aaronsheehantenor.com/bio.html|website=Aaron Sheehan Tenor|publisher=Aaron Sheehan|accessdate=February 6, 2017}}
Career
Following graduate school, Sheehan moved to Boston, Massachusetts, to launch his professional singing career.{{cite news|last1=Maranell|first1=Samantha|title=Janesville native takes home Grammy for best opera recording|url=http://www.southernminn.com/janesville_argus/news/article_215af52a-ad05-5240-9d11-17733ec148d0.html|accessdate=February 6, 2017|work=Janesville Argus|date=February 11, 2015}} His opera debut came in 2005 when he appeared as Ivan in the Boston Early Music Festival's premiere of Johann Mattheson's Boris Goudenow.{{cite news|last1=Seligson|first1=Susan|title=CFA Lecturer Nominated for Grammy Award|url=https://www.bu.edu/today/2015/cfa-lecturer-nominated-for-grammy-award/|accessdate=February 6, 2017|work=BU Today|publisher=Boston University|date=February 6, 2015}} Sheehan went on to tour and perform extensively in Europe, South America, and the United States.
Sheehan performed on the Boston Early Music Festival's recording of Charpentier’s La descente d'Orphée aux enfers, which received the Grammy Award for Best Opera Recording in 2015. The following year he appeared on two recordings nominated for the Grammy for Best Opera Recording: Il ritorno d'Ulisse in patria (with Boston Baroque) and Niobe, regina di Tebe (with the Boston Early Music Festival).{{cite news|last1=Costello|first1=Becca|title=Hoosiers Nominated For Grammy Awards|url=http://indianapublicmedia.org/news/hoosiers-nominated-grammy-awards-93874/|accessdate=February 6, 2017|work=WFYI-FM|date=February 15, 2016}}
As of 2017, Sheehan is teaching at Boston University as lecturer in Music, Historical Performance, Voice.{{cite web|title=Aaron Sheehan|url=https://www.bu.edu/cfa/profile/aaron-sheehan/|website=bu.edu|publisher=Boston University|accessdate=February 6, 2017}} He also teaches voice at Wellesley College.
According to Sheehan, he has been most inspired by Aksel Schiøtz and Anthony Rolfe Johnson.
=Reception=
Sheehan has been described as "one of the leading Early Music singers in the world" by Marion Dry, the director of Wellesley College's music performance program.{{cite web|title=Aaron Sheehan Recognized for Boston Early Music Festival's Recording of 17th-Century Opera |url=http://www.wellesley.edu/news/2015/02/node/57181#ZPwXp1FJHWyphSeg.97|website=My Wellesley|publisher=Wellesley College|accessdate=February 7, 2017}} The Boston Globe has lauded Sheehan as "superb: his tone classy, clear, and refined, encompassing fluid lyricism and ringing force".{{cite news|last1=Guerrieri|first1=Matthew|title=Handel holds court in a richly staged Acis and Galatea|url=http://archive.boston.com/ae/music/articles/2009/11/30/handel_holds_court_in_a_richly_staged_acis_and_galatea/|accessdate=February 7, 2017|work=The Boston Globe|date=November 30, 2009}} In a review of the Boston Early Music Festival's 2015 staging of Monteverdi's L'Orfeo, The New York Times wrote that Sheehan "brought shining quality and deep sensitivity to the title role".{{cite news|last1=Oestreich|first1=James|authorlink=James R. Oestreich|title=Review: Aston Magna and Boston Early Music Festivals Offer Diverse Monteverdi Experiences|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/23/arts/music/review-aston-magna-and-boston-early-music-festivals-offer-diverse-monteverdi-experiences.html|accessdate=February 7, 2017|work=The New York Times|date=June 22, 2015}} During the Dallas Bach Society's performance of Messiah, the Dallas Morning News called Sheehan the "best of the soloists", describing him as having an "agreeably fibrous tenor deployed to great expressive effect".{{cite news|last1=Cantrell|first1=Scott|title=Classical music: Orpheus, Ars Lyrica restore Messiah to rightful time period|url=http://www.dallasnews.com/arts/arts/2016/04/03/classical-music-orpheus-ars-lyrica-restore-messiah-to-rightful-time-period|accessdate=February 7, 2017|work=The Dallas Morning News}}
Selected recordings
- Marc-Antoine Charpentier, La Descente d'Orphée aux enfers H.488, Aaron Sheehan, Orphée, Amanda Forsythe, Eurydice, Teresa Wakim, Jesse Blumberg, Boston Early Music Festival, Vocal & Chamber Ensembles, conducted by Paul O’Dette & Stephen Stubbs (CPO 2014) Grammy Award For Best Opera Recording 2015
Personal life
Sheehan has three siblings.{{cite news|last1=Linehan|first1=Dan|title=Janesville native wins Grammy for Opera|url=http://www.mankatofreepress.com/news/local_news/janesville-native-wins-grammy-for-opera/article_ca982f40-ded5-514c-bd64-6b07dc2cae98.html|accessdate=February 6, 2017|work=Mankato Free Press|date=February 9, 2015}}
References
{{reflist|30em}}
External links
- {{discogs artist}}
- {{AllMusic|artist/aaron-sheehan-mn0002207590}}
{{Portal bar|Biography|Opera}}
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Category:American operatic tenors
Category:Boston University faculty
Category:Indiana University Bloomington alumni
Category:Luther College (Iowa) alumni
Category:Singers from Minnesota
Category:People from Waseca County, Minnesota
Category:21st-century American opera singers
Category:Classical musicians from Minnesota