Jacob Hunter is a captivating, expressive young tenor from Upstate New York, committed to the performing arts as a vessel for cultural and spiritual resonance. He believes in the performing arts as a framework for fostering empathy in an increasingly fragmented world. Onstage, Jacob is known for his magnetic presence, emotional depth, and a vocalism that is both refined and fiercely communicative.

Earlier this year, Jacob made his debut with The Orchestra Now as Henrik from A Little Night Music as part of the Broadway Revue Concert with Stephanie Blythe. He made his role debut as Pluton in Orphée aux enfers at the Fisher Center of the Performing Arts, earning praise for his vocal agility and ease with choreography. Other recent stage highlights include his performance as David in Joseph Rumshinsky’s operetta Shim Hasirim at the YIVO Institute, and his performance of Arnold Schoenberg’s Vier Lieder, Op. 2 in the Bard Conservatory’s Noon Concert Series.

Jacob’s repertoire spans centuries, with a particular interest in early and contemporary vocal literature. A passionate recitalist, he has appeared with the Chamber Music Collective performing Brahms, Schubert, and Beethoven lieder on period pianofortes. His early music roles include Mercurio in Francesco Cavalli’s La Calisto and Phoebus in Henry Purcell’s The Fairy Queen.

In contemporary opera, Jacob has embraced dynamic roles, including the Nurse in Anthony Davis’ Lear on the Second Floor and Rodney in Kurt Weill’s One Touch of Venus with Eastman Opera Theater. He has been featured in the Berkshire Opera Festival for two consecutive seasons and was a 2022 Chautauqua Opera Conservatory artist under Marlena Kleinman Malas, where he performed the Schoolmaster in Janáček’s The Cunning Little Vixen with conductor Timothy Muffitt. His collaborators have included directors Jonathan Loy, Katherine Carter, and John Matsumoto Giampietro.

As a concert and oratorio soloist, Jacob brings an expressive clarity to a wide range of repertoire. He recently sang Bach’s Magnificat and Ich hatte viel Bekümmernis (BWV 21) with the Northwestern Bach Academy, Margaret Bonds’ Ballad of the Brown King with the Genesee Symphony Orchestra, and Mozart’s Missa in C Minor with the Eastman School Symphony Orchestra. While at Eastman, he was also a frequent soloist in the Eastman Bach Cantata Series.

Jacob earned his Bachelor’s degree in Vocal Performance from the Eastman School of Music, where he studied with Anthony Dean Griffey and was twice awarded the Renée Fleming Endowed Scholarship. In 2022, he received the Links Inc. Scholarship. He holds a Master’s in Vocal Arts from Bard Conservatory, where he studied with Lucy Fitz Gibbon and Stephanie Blythe, and worked closely with Howard Watkins, Kayo Iwama, and Erika Switzer.