Countertenor, writer, and vocal coach Bryce McClendon (they/them) was a 2020 Regional Finalist in the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions. An accomplished opera singer, they performed the role of Arsace in Handel’s Partenope with Opera Neo under the baton of Benjamin Bayl and originated the title role in the world premiere of Jonathan Dawe’s opera, Being Aridante, with Ensemble Échappé. They have performed extensively as a soloist with the South Carolina Bach Society, North Carolina Baroque Orchestra, Detroit Community Chorus, and the Baroque Chamber Orchestra of the University of Michigan, including performances of Bach’s St. John Passion, Magnificat, and Christmas Oratorio. 

An advocate of new music for the countertenor voice, they were an Eva & Marc Stern Fellow at SongFest in Los Angeles in 2019. Currently based in NYC, they recently collaborated with American Lyric Theater’s Composer Librettist Development Program in a performance and panel discussion about developing new operatic repertoire for countertenors. Their singing will also be heard in a 2023 album release of the complete vocal music by composer Peter Dayton. 

In addition to their work as a performer, Bryce coaches numerous singers on Baroque vocal repertoire and ornamentation. As an actor, they recently appeared in the initial workshop of an adaption of Faggots by Larry Kramer, at the Clark Studio Theater in Lincoln Center. An advocate for gender variant representation and accessibility in performing art spaces, they are also a founding member of the Trans Opera Alliance. Their writing can be sampled online in their blog, The Scale, and in The Middleclass Artist. Their first full-length play, The Smallest Sound, in the Smallest Space, will premiere 2023 at the cell theatre.