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Christian Sanders
Christian Sanders has been hailed as a “…voice whose color belies his age. Someone to watch!” (Bill Eadie, SanDiego.com)
Mr. Sanders’ operatic repertoire encompasses the roles of Tom Rakewell in Stravinsky’s _The Rake’s Progress,_ Albert Herring in Britten’s Albert Herring, Rodolfo in La Bohème, Fenton in Verdi’s Falstaff, Laurie in Adamo’s Little Women, Tamino in Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte, Rinuccio in Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi, and Prince Charmant in _Cendrillon_ by Massenet. Mr. Sanders has appeared as the Prison Chaplain in the world premiere of Theodore Morrison’s _Oscar_ with the Santa Fe Opera alongside world-renown countertenor, David Daniels; as well as Welko in Richard Strauss’s _Arabella_ with the same company. In the summer of 2015 Mr. Sanders sang the title role of Dorian Gray in _The Picture of Dorian Gray_ at the Aspen Music Festival and School in Aspen, Colorado. For the last two seasons Mr. Sanders has joined the Utah Opera as its Resident Artist tenor. While working alongside this company Christian has performed the roles of Il Messaggero in Aïda, Don Curzio in Le Nozze di Figaro, Remendado in Carmen, the Padre in Man of La Mancha, Normanno in _Lucia di_ Lammermoor, and Castleman in Beck’s The Long Walk. In addition to these opportunities, Mr. Sanders has had the honor of being a part of Des Moines Metro Opera’s Apprentice Artist program. His roles with this company include study covering Des Grieux in their 2016 production of _Manon_ by Massenet as well as singing the roles of the Novice in _Billy Budd_ and Mr. Erlanson in _A Little Night Music_ in the summer of 2017. Christian joined the Young Artist Program at The Glimmerglass Opera for the 2018 season singing Jonathan Dale in the Pulitzer prize-winning opera Silent Night. He also stepped in as Tony in _West Side Story_ during that same season under the baton of Maestro David Charles Abell.
On the concert stage Mr. Sanders has been the tenor soloist in Handel’s Messiah, Bach’s Magnificat, Beethoven’s Choral Fantasy, Mendelssohn’s Elijah, and Bruckner’s _Te Deum_ with the Point Loma Choral Union. More recently, Mr. Sanders performed with the Rice Chorale at Rice University in Houston, Texas for Schubert’s _Mass No._ 2, and Orff’s Carmina Burana. He has also appeared as a guest soloist with the San Diego Mormon Choir and Orchestra and as the tenor soloist in Mozart’s _Coronation Mass_with the San Diego Festival Chorus in a live televised concert.
Mr. Sanders was a finalist in the Rocky Mountain Region of the Metropolitan National Council Auditions in the spring of 2012. Christian also had the honor of being awarded first place in the Ruth Burr Competition held in Houston, Texas in 2015. He was the First-Place Winner of the Lower-Collegiate Division of the National Association of Teachers of Singing Young Artist Competition and a Finalist for the 2010⁄11 Classical Singer Magazine National Competition. Additionally, Mr. Sanders is a scholarship recipient of the R. Faulk and the D. Greiner Encouragement Awards from the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions. He is also a scholarship recipient of the Opera Buffs Inc. appearing in the organization’s showcase concert held at Zipper Hall in Los Angeles.
Mr. Sanders has received his Masters degree in Operatic Performance from Rice University in Houston on the full-tuition Edward J. and Frances Bing Memorial Scholarship. He holds a Bachelors of Arts Magna Cum Laude in Music with a minor in Cell and Molecular Biology from Point Loma Nazarene University and currently lives in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Christian joins the Resident Artist Program at Minnesota Opera this coming season in Minneapolis.