Nathan Gunn: American Baritone | Meet the World's Coolest Opera Star
Wed, May 27 | 10 am - 12 pm
LIVE on Peoria Riverfront Museum's Facebook page (@riverfrontmuseum)
Featuring a special interview by Interesting People's Ed Sutkowski.
Coming to you LIVE on Facebook from the lobby of the Peoria Riverfront Museum, meet the world's coolest opera star, American baritone Nathan Gunn and his wife and artistic partner, Dr. Julie Jordan Gunn for special performances and an interview with Interesting People's Ed Sutkowski. Nathan and Julie reside in Champaign, where they teach at the University of Illinois. Nathan is a third generation University of Illinois alumnus. Julie received her AB from Dartmouth and MM and MD from the University of Illinois.
Nathan Gunn commands an operatic baritone whose mighty heft and richness confer an outsize authority on everything it touches ...
--The New York Times
Nathan Gunn
Nathan Gunn is widely acclaimed for his diverse performing career bridging the genres of opera, musical theatre, and recital. The Indiana native and University of Illinois professor is a respected artist, musician, and singing actor. Gunn has performed many of opera and musical theater’s greatest roles on the world’s most prestigious stages. He has also appeared on television, radio, video, and live simulcast performances, including the first ever Met in HD broadcast ("The Magic Flute"), in which he sang Papageno, one of his signature roles. Gunn has reinterpreted other classic roles such as Billy Budd, Figaro, and Don Giovanni, garnering many awards, including the Grammy Award for Best Opera Recording (Billy Budd) and the Metropolitan Opera’s first ever Beverly Sills Award. He is widely acclaimed for his ability to crossover into musical theater, including performances with the New York Philharmonic in Carousel and Camelot, as well as a televised celebration of Stephen Sondheim’s 80th birthday. Nathan has frequently collaborated with many stars of musical theater, including Mandy Patinkin, Kelli O’Hara, Audra McDonald, and Kristin Chenoweth. He teaches at the University of Illinois with his wife and artistic partner, Julie Jordan Gunn. Nathan Gunn is a third generation University of Illinois alumnus.
Dr. Julie Gunn
Julie Jordan Gunn, MM, DMA, is a pianist, educator, and music director at the University of Illinois. The Dartmouth alumna has performed on many of the world’s most prestigious recital series, including the Aspen Festival, Auckland’s Aotea Centre, Boston’s Celebrity Series, Brussel’s La Monnaie, Cal Performances, the Carnegie Hall Pure Voice Series, the Cincinnati Chamber Music Society, the Cliburn Foundation, the Dallas Opera, Melbourne’s Hamer Hall, the Krannert Center for the Performing Arts, Lincoln Center Great Performers, Manhattan’s Café Carlyle, the McCallum Theater for the Performing Arts, the Metropolitan Opera Summerstage, Notre Dame’s DeBartolo Center, the Queensland Performing Arts Centre, the Ravinia Festival, St. Paul’s Schubert Club, San Francisco Performances, the Sydney Opera House, Toronto’s Roy Thomson Hall, University of Chicago Presents, Washington’s Vocal Arts Society, the Wallis Annenberg Center in Beverly Hills, Washington National Opera, the 92nd Street Y, and the United States Supreme Court. She has been heard with William Burden, Richard Croft, Michelle De Young, Elizabeth Futral, Isabel Leonard, Stefan Milenkovich, Kelli O’Hara, Mandy Patinkin, Patti LuPone, Yvonne Gonzales Redman, Alek Shrader, the Pacifica and Jupiter Quartets, and her husband and artistic partner Nathan Gunn. Julie Gunn received her AB from Dartmouth and MM and MD from the University of Illinois.
