Baritone Wil Kellerman to Perform Oct. 20

Performance Music at The University of Scranton will present a recital by operatic baritone singer Wil Kellerman on Sunday, Oct. 20.  The recital will take place at 3 p.m. inside the University’s Houlihan-McLean Center, Mulberry Street and Jefferson Avenue. Admission is free, with seating on a first-come, first-seated basis.

According to Performance Music Conductor and Director Cheryl Y. Boga, Kellerman impressed Scranton student musicians and audience members alike when he performed at the University earlier this year in a performance by Boga and The University of Scranton Singers with Maestro Mark Gould and the Mannes School of Music Brass Orchestra.

“Unfortunately, he came in the spring to sing what were essentially solo snippets within the full choir and brass orchestra literature that was programmed. Had I known he was the guy Gould was bringing, I would have programmed a full solo section of the program for him,” Boga said. “So, that day, I asked him if he would come back in the fall and grace us with a full recital. The kids actually applauded from the risers when I asked … happily, he said yes.”

With recent performances that have been described as “superb” by OperaWire and “winning” by Schmopera, Kellerman is increasingly making a name for himself in the opera world. Among other roles, he has played the Secret Police Agent in Menotti’s “The Consul,” the title role in “The Mikado” with Bronx Opera, Colline in “La Bohème,” Alcade and Chirurgo in “La Forza del Destino” with New Amsterdam Opera, and Hunding in “Die Walküre” with Manhattan Opera Studio.

Meanwhile, he was a semi-finalist at the 2018 Mildred Miller International Competition, and he performed at last year’s Kosciuszko Foundation Marcella Sembrich International Voice Competition.

A Radford, Virginia, native who now calls New York City home, Kellerman has served as an apprentice artist at Teatro Nuovo and as a young artist at Songfest in Los Angeles. Recently, he made his international debut in Sicily, where he sang as Marco in “Gianni Schicchi” and Baron Douphol in an updated adaptation of “La Traviata.”

A cum laude graduate of James Madison University, Kellerman just received his master’s degree from the Mannes School. There, he performed the roles of Figaro in “Le nozze di Figaro” and Nick Shadow in “The Rake's Progress.”

In addition to his vocal prowess, Kellerman is an accomplished and award-winning violinist.

For more information on the recital, call 570-941-7624, email music@scranton.edu or visit scranton.edu/music. For more on Kellerman, visit wilbertkellerman.com.