Chad Somers
St. Louis native, Chadwick Somers, has received praise for his “mastery in music and voice” in addition to delivering “moving performances” which are “uniquely personal” and “particularly eloquent” by Phindie and Stage Magazines. Hailed by the Philadelphia City Paper as a singer who, “actually acts,” Chadwick uses his rich background in theater to bring new vitality to his operatic roles.
A champion of new music, Chadwick regularly works with composers to premiere new works. Mr. Somers collaborated with celebrated composer Helmut Lachenmann on his Zwei Gefühle for orchestra and voice in addition to working with Heggie and Scheer on the east coast premiere of their opera Out of Darkness. Chadwick also premiered the award winning opera, The Black Cat (Revak). Ranked by Stage Magazine as one of the top picks of the Philadelphia Fringe Festival, the press met the new work with applause. Chadwick enjoyed praise for his visceral and chilling portrayal of the Narrator in the highly stylized opera. His partnership with Philadelphia Composer’s Ink led a premiere of A Song Symphony (Revak) and a collection of songs from Philadelphia Composers in recital for Songs of Metamorphosis: Transformation in Music. He recently presented Babbitt’s Two Sonnets with OSSIA New Music in Rochester, NY for an evening dedicated to celebrating the composers’ works.
Chadwick has appeared in many companies such as Opera Saratoga, Philadelphia Opera Collective, Poor Richard’s Opera, and Opera Libera in such roles as Papageno, Eisenstein, Guglielmo, Le mari (Les mamelles de Tirésias), John Sorel (The Consul), and Ben (The Telephone). In addition to Musica Nova OSSIA New Music, and LyricFest concerts, he has also appeared as the soloist in Brahms’ Requiem and in many Bach Cantatas. Chadwick also regularly appears in recitals and concerts throughout the upstate New York and Philadelphia regions.
Mr. Somers won First place in Philadelphia for the Classical Singer Competition and has been a finalist in the Friends of Eastman Opera competition. Currently, Mr. Somers is completing a Doctor of Musical Arts in Vocal Performance and Literature from Eastman School of Music, honored with the Arthur Assum award. He studies with Carol Webber. When not singing, you might find Chadwick, his wife, and their two small children hiking blissfully in the Finger Lakes.