Festival of Frolic and Reflection

A native of Wabash, Indiana, tenor Wesley Dunnagan has been fortunate to perform across the United States and abroad. A specialist in oratorio and concert repertoire, he has been praised for his “unfailing eloquence” as the Evangelist in Bach’s St. Matthew Passion. He has also been heard in Mendelssohn’s Elijah with baritone Nathan Gunn in the title role, tenor soloist in Bach’s Christmas Oratorio, Handel’s Messiah, La resurrezione, and Ode for St. Cecilia’s Day, Mozart’s Vesperae solennes de confessore, Coronation Mass, and Große Messe, Haydn’s Creation and Nelsonmesse, Beethoven’s Mass in C, and Copland’s The Tender Land Opera Suite. His opera roles include Hansel and Gretel (the Witch), Lucia di Lammermoor (Arturo), Falstaff (Dr. Caius), Così fan tutte (Ferrando), Don Giovanni (Don Ottavio), Der Schauspieldirektor (Vogelsang), Gianni Schicchi (Rinuccio), Henry Cowell’s The Commission (Jonathan), and the world premiere of Giancarlo Aquilanti’s First Night at the Opera (Jonathan).

He has appeared with the San Juan Symphony, South Bend Lyric Opera, South Bend Symphony, Kettle Moraine Symphony, Madison’s monthly series Just Bach, the Wisconsin Chamber Choir (Bach’s Christmas Oratorio), Madison Bach Musicians (St. John Passion, Dido and Aeneas), the University of Wisconsin’s annual Schubertiade, Schola Cantorum in Mountain View, California, and Bach Collegium in Fort Wayne, Indiana. A passionate recitalist, he has presented diverse art song repertoire and chamber music from Medieval to contemporary works. As a conductor, he has led the Fort Lewis Baroque Ensemble and Durango’s Colla Voce Singers. He also served as Music Director for musical theatre productions and guest conductor of the Fort Lewis Chamber Orchestra. Recent conducting highlights include Sondheim’s Sweeney Todd, Dave Malloy’s Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812, Handel’s complete Messiah, and diverse choral works.

Dr. Dunnagan serves as Assistant Professor of Music at St. Olaf College, where he teaches Voice and Lyric Diction. Prior to St. Olaf, he served as Assistant Professor of Music and Coordinator of Voice Studies at Fort Lewis College and Lecturer of Lyric Diction at the University of California, Irvine.

Wesley received a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Voice and Opera from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he was also a Foreign Language and Area Studies Fellow in Italian. He holds a Bachelor of the Arts with Distinction in German Studies and Music from Stanford University and a Master of Sacred Music from the University of Notre Dame. In addition, he spent a year as a DAAD (German Academic Exchange Service) Scholar at the Berlin University of the Arts, where he studied under Berliner Kammersänger Peter Maus of the Deutsche Oper Berlin. An SVI trained Vocologist, Dr. Dunnagan is a strong advocate for vocal health and science-based pedagogy in the music studio.