Lauded for his luminous projection, lyrical sensitivity, and brilliant coloratura, American-Canadian tenor Lawrence Wiliford is in high demand in concert, opera, and recital repertoire. In 2023-2024 season, Mr. Wiliford appeared as the tenor soloist in Messiah with the National Arts Centre Orchestra as well as the Toronto Korean Canadian Choir and the Calvin Oratorio Society and returned to the Hamilton Philharmonic for Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 and will reprise the piece with Orchestre Symphonique de Quebec in a future season.

 

Mr. Wiliford’s recent season highlights include a return to Early Music Vancouver for vocal selections by Schütz, performances of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, Britten’s Serenade for Tenor, Horn and Strings, Op. 31 with Hamilton Philharmonic, and Handel’s Ode for St. Cecilia’s Day with the Back Bay Chorale. He has sung Vaughan Williams’ Serenade to Music with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra; Rossini’s Petite Messe Solennelle with Luminous Voices in Calgary;  Elgar’s The Apostles with the Pax Christi Chorale; Britten’s Serenade for Tenor, Horn, and Strings with I Musici de Montréal; Elijah with the Colorado Symphony; Monteverdi’s Vespers of 1610 at the Oregon Bach Festival; Haydn’s Lord Nelson Mass with the National Arts Center Orchestra; and Beethoven’s Mass in C-major and Stravinsky’s Pulcinella with the Houston Symphony.

 

Mr. Wiliford has performed Mozart’s Requiem with Calgary Philharmonic, Eugene Symphony, Seattle Symphony Orchestra (under Masaaki Suzuki), Hamilton Philharmonic, ProMusica Chamber Orchestra of Columbus, Milwaukee Symphony (under Matthew Halls), Indianapolis Symphony, Tafelmusik, and the National Arts Centre Orchestra. He has performed Handel’s Messiah with the Houston Symphony, National Arts Centre Orchestra, Rochester Philharmonic, Tucson Symphony, Naples Philharmonic, Phoenix Symphony, Philadelphia Orchestra (under Nathalie Stutzmann), the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Detroit Symphony Orchestra, National Symphony, Louisiana Philharmonic, Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra, Edmonton Symphony, and Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra.

 

An established interpreter of Bach, he has performed as the Evangelist in Bach’s St John Passion with Grand Philharmonic Choir, the Elora Singers, and the Orquesta Sinfónica Naciónal de Costa Rica. Regarding his performance with Luminous Voices, Calgary Herald writes: “As the evangelist, Lawrence Wiliford was as polished and elegant as anything one could wish for. For beauty of voice, dramatic projection, and a deep understanding of the music, Wiliford was the equal of any tenor on anyone’s favourite CDs. Colouring the words effectively and showing no apparent effort, he eloquently sang music that is vocally challenging and often very high — the perfect light tenor for the job. It was a magnificent performance.” He has sung the Evangelist in St. Matthew Passion with the Calgary Philharmonic, Orchestre Métropolitain, and Toronto Bach Consort; Mass in B-minor with the Louisiana Philharmonic, Music of the Baroque, National Arts Centre Orchestra, Orquesta Sinfónica Naciónal de Mexico, Oregon Bach Festival, Toronto Symphony, and Vancouver Chamber Choir; and Christmas Oratorio with the National Arts Center Orchestra.

 

Operatic highlights an exciting return to the Aldeburgh Festival as Flute in Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. He made his Canadian Opera Company debut as Ferrando in Mozart’s Così fan tutte on five hours’ notice, to great acclaim. He has additionally appeared with the Canadian Opera Company as Francis Flute in Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Roy in James Rolfe’s Swoon. He has performed with Toronto’s Opera Atelier as Belmonte and Pedrillo in Die Entführung aus dem Serail, Damon in Acis and Galatea, Mercure in Lully’s Persée, and Don Ottavio in Don Giovanni; with Toronto Masque Theatre as the title role in Acis and Galatea; with Aldeburgh Music as Peter Quint in Britten’s The Turn of the Screw; with Vancouver Opera in the title role of Albert Herring; with Edmonton Opera as Frederic in The Pirates of Penzance and Pedrillo in Die Entführung aus dem Serail; with Pacific Opera Victoria in the title role of Albert Herring and Leo in the Canadian premiere of Mark Blitzstein’s Regina; and with MusicFest Vancouver and Boston Baroque in the title role of Rameau’s Pygmalion.

 

Mr. Wiliford has collaborated with esteemed conductors including Jane Glover, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Bernard Labadie, Masaaki Suzuki, Nathalie Stutzmann, Matthew Halls, Nicholas McGegan, John Nelson, Peter Oundjian, Trevor Pinnock, Helmuth Rilling, and Pinchas Zukerman. His recorded projects appear on several labels and include a GRAMMY-nominated and JUNO award-winning recording of music by Vaughan Williams with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra and Peter Oundjian (Chandos); J.S. Bach’s St. John Passion under the direction of Alex Weimann (ATMA Classique); a program of late works for tenor and harp by Benjamin Britten (ATMA Classique); and sacred songs by Edmund Rubbra, Ralph Vaughan Williams and Gustav Holst (Stone Records). He is also a featured soloist on the 2020 JUNO-nominated recording of Zachary Wadsworth’s oratorio When There is Peace by Chor Leoni Men’s Choir.

 

Mr. Wiliford holds a Bachelor of Music in Church Music from St. Olaf College, a Master of Music in Vocal Performance from the University of Toronto, and a Master of Arts in Media Production from Toronto Metropolitan University. He studied at Tanglewood, the Internationale Bachakademie of Stuttgart, the Steans Institute at the Ravinia Festival, and the Britten-Pears Young Artist Program. He is a graduate of the Canadian Opera Company's Ensemble Studio and is a recipient of grants from the Canada Council for the Arts and the Ontario Arts Council. In addition to his performing schedule, Mr. Wiliford is the co-artistic director of the Canadian Art Song Project. While a student at St. Olaf College, he sang with the St. Olaf Choir, became a published choral arranger, and was one of the founding members of the male vocal chamber ensemble Cantus, based in Minneapolis, Minnesota.