Jonathan Lasch
Biography
Jonathan Lasch has been described by critics as possessing a voice of “arresting color and heft,” that is “smooth and flexible,” “thrillingly resonant and firm-lined,” a singer able to “balance a big, powerful sound with a light-handed facility with which he makes every note of the fast passagework perfectly clear,” a performer who is a “master of the stage” and a “tour de force.” This past summer Dr. Lasch; performed a recital and taught in Athens, Greece at the historic Athens Academy for the Musical Horizons Conservatory, sang the Baritone Soloist in Carmina Burana for three different performances (Green Lake Festival of Music, a UMS ‘Summer Sing’ in Hill Auditorium, and in Detroit’s Orchestra Hall with combined choirs), performed a recital of American music with Caitlin Lynch, soprano and Kathleen Kelly, pianist, featuring songs of Allen McCullough, which they will record later this year, as well as joined the voice faculty for University of Michgan’s MPulse program. In July, Jocelyn Hagen’s Amass with Eugene Rogers conducting, and Jonathan Lasch as the baritone soloist, was released by Navona Records.
An accomplished concert artist, Lasch has sung Mozart’s Requiem at Carnegie Hall, Händel’s Messiah with Houston Symphony, Milwaukee Symphony, Toledo Symphony, Calvin Orotorio Society, Dover Choral Society and Fort Street Chorale, the title role in Mendelssohn’s Elijah with Chorus America, Beethoven’s 9th Symphony with the Michigan Philharmonic and Adrian Symphony, the premiere of Rene Clausen’s Passion at Minnesota Orchestra Hall, Copland’s Old American Songs with the Dearborn Symphony, Brahms’ Requiem with Christ Church Grosse Pointe and Community Chorus of Detroit, Orff’s Carmina Burana with the Adrian Symphony, Dover Beach with the Emerson String Quartet, Bach’s Ich habe genug with the Trinity Lutheran Church Foundation Series, Henry Mallicone’s Beatitude Mass with Rackham Choir of Detroit, Fauré and Duruflé Requiem and Haydn’s Creation. Being a consistent and avid recitalist, Jonathan was featured internationally as a recitalist in Spain (Leon, Salamanca, Soria, and Bayona La Real) and the Athens Academy in Greece and has most recently performed Schubert’s Schwanengesang several times in venues across Michigan, as well as several diverse programs with repertory from Bach to premieres in Detroit since he cofounded Detroit Song Collective in 2018.
Most recent operatic roles performed include The Vicar in Albert Herring with Princeton Music Festival, Alcindoro in La Boheme with Detroit Opera, Sam in Trouble in Tahiti with Great Lakes Chamber Music Festival and Hannah Before in As One with Aepex Contemporary Performance at Kerrytown Concert Hall. Other recent operatic roles include the title role in Le Nozze di Figaro for Princeton Festival, Leporello in Don Giovanni and Marco in A View from the Bridge with Michigan Opera Theater, Papageno in Die Zauberflöte with Fargo Moorhead Opera and Master Players Concert Series at University of Delaware, Sharpless in Madama Butterfly with Fargo Moorhead Opera, Scarpia in Tosca for Opera Saratoga’s Pasta and Puccini Night, Marcello in La bohème with Arbor Opera Theatre and Bar Harbor Music Festival, Ford in Falstaff with Aspen Opera Theater Center, Masetto in Don Giovanni with Green Mountain Opera Festival, and Captain Corcoran in H.M.S. Pinafore with Piedmont Opera.
While earning an Artist Diploma in Opera at University of Cincinnati’s College-Conservatory of Music, Jonathan’s roles included the title role in Verdi’s Falstaff, Melisso in Alcina, Shrike in the Midwest première of Lowell Liebermann’s Miss Lonelyhearts, and Marcello in La bohème. During his Doctoral studies at the University of Michigan, then preDr. Lasch, reprised the title role of Falstaff and performed his premiere of the title role in Don Giovanni. Mr. Lasch performed Ford in Falstaff and Escamillo in La tragédie de Carmen with Seattle Opera’s Young Artist Program and Tarquinius in The Rape of Lucretia with Portland Opera. Jonathan was a Glimmerglass Opera Young American Artist for two summers where he performed Achilla in Giulio Cesare, and covered Scarpia in Tosca and Friedrich in Wagner’s comic opera Das Liebesverbot.
Mr. Lasch was fortunate to learn from some of the best training programs in the United States, having participated in the Young Artist Programs at Glimmerglass Opera, Seattle Opera, Portland Opera, Chautauqua Opera, Connecticut Opera and the Aspen Opera Center.
Dr. Lasch holds Bachelor and Master of Music degrees from The Hartt School at University of Hartford, an Artist Diploma in Opera from The University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, and a Doctor of Musical Arts from The University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre, and Dance. Dr. Lasch has taught voice at Concordia College in Moorhead, MN, Adrian College, University of Michigan, and returns to Wayne State University in Detroit as Assistant Professor and Coordinator of Voice. He has actively served as a guest clinician and judge for several organizations and institutes, including Metropolitan Opera National Council-Michigan, University of Denver, University of Delaware, Central Michigan University, Detroit School for the Arts, the Byrd Competition, NATS Great Lakes Region and NATS Michigan Chapter where he also serves as District Governor and Treasurer. Jonathan enjoys living in Ferndale, Michigan with his wife and three kids, and is the Cofounder and Director of ‘Detroit Song Collective’ with his wife, world-renowned soprano, Caitlin Lynch.