Rockland Osgood
Encyclopedia
Rockland Osgood is a contemporary American lyric tenor who has distinguished himself in a wide variety of musical idioms from the Baroque to the latest in Contemporary compositions. He is frequently praised for his exemplary musicianship, eloquence of expression, and immaculate diction.
followed by a Master's Degree from the New England Conservatory of Music
. He was a Fellow at the Berkshire Music Center at Tanglewood and was a winner of the New York Oratorio Society Solo Competition as well as the National Association of Teachers of Singing
Competition.
, Spectrum Singers, Chorus pro Musica, Spoleto Festival, North Carolina Symphony, Anchorage Opera, Mobile Opera, Brevard Music Center, Syracuse Opera, Boston Camerata, New York Choral Society, Oregon Symphony, and is a frequent soloist at the Northwest Bach Festival. Conductors include Seiji Ozawa
, Gunther Schuller
, James DePreist
, Joel Revzen, David Hoose, Craig Smith
, Kent Tritle
, Michael Kleinschmidt, and John Rutter
.
Mr. Osgood toured nationally with the Boston Camerata
and includes in his repertoire such singular works as Distler's Weihnachtsgeschichte and Albert's Into Eclipse. He was a featured soloist with the New York Choral Society on their 1985 tour of Greece. He was soloist in the World Premiere of Richard Emery's Death at Wallowa Valley and Donald Sur
’s Slavery Documents. In 2008, he performed the world premiere of Lior Navok's Slavery Documents 3: And the trains kept coming... with Cantata Singers. He recently performed St. John Passion (Evangelist) at Trinity Church, Boston
.
Beethoven: Missa Solemnis, Mass in C
Berg: Wozzeck
Bernstein: Chichester Psalms
Britten: War Requiem, St. Nicholas, Cantata Misericordia
Distler: Weihnachtsgeschichte
Handel: Messiah, Saul
Haydn: Creation
Mozart: Tamino Die Zauberflöte, Belmonte Die Entfuehrung aus dem Serail, Almaviva Il Barbiere di Siviglia, Don Ottavio Don Giovanni, Mass in c-minor
Mendelssohn: Paulus, Symphony #2
Navok: Slavery Documents 3: And the trains kept coming
Orff: Carmina Burana
Pinkham: St. Mark Passion
Rossini: Messe di Gloria
Stravinsky: Les Noces
Sur: Slavery Documents
Verdi: Requiem
Vivaldi: Arsilda, Regina di Ponto
"Osgood, who has a growing national and international reputation as a baroque specialist, gave a brilliant performance from the very first aria 'Every valley shall be exalted' Of the four singers, his ornamentation was the furthest and freshest departure from what singers usually do with the music."
Education
He received a B.A. from Huntingdon CollegeHuntingdon College
Huntingdon College, founded in 1854, is a coeducational liberal arts college in Montgomery, Alabama, United States. Related to the United Methodist Church, the college's central hallmarks are faith, wisdom, and service. The college is known for providing a solid academic experience based on good...
followed by a Master's Degree from the New England Conservatory of Music
New England Conservatory of Music
The New England Conservatory of Music in Boston, Massachusetts, is the oldest independent school of music in the United States.The conservatory is home each year to 750 students pursuing undergraduate and graduate studies along with 1400 more in its Preparatory School as well as the School of...
. He was a Fellow at the Berkshire Music Center at Tanglewood and was a winner of the New York Oratorio Society Solo Competition as well as the National Association of Teachers of Singing
National Association of Teachers of Singing
The National Association of Teachers of Singing is a professional organization for singing teachers, and is the largest association of its kind in the world. There are more than 6,500 members mostly from the United States...
Competition.
Career
Mr. Osgood has performed with many musical organizations including the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Emmanuel Music of Boston, Handel and Haydn Society, the Sioux City Symphony, the Jacksonville Symphony, Oregon Symphony, Boston Cecilia, Cantata SingersCantata Singers and Ensemble
The Cantata Singers and Ensemble is a professional volunteer choir and professional orchestral ensemble located in Boston, Massachusetts. Founded in 1964 to perform and preserve the cantatas of Johann Sebastian Bach , the group has since expanded its scope to include repertoire from the 17th...
, Spectrum Singers, Chorus pro Musica, Spoleto Festival, North Carolina Symphony, Anchorage Opera, Mobile Opera, Brevard Music Center, Syracuse Opera, Boston Camerata, New York Choral Society, Oregon Symphony, and is a frequent soloist at the Northwest Bach Festival. Conductors include Seiji Ozawa
Seiji Ozawa
is a Japanese conductor, particularly noted for his interpretations of large-scale late Romantic works. He is most known for his work as music director of the Boston Symphony Orchestra and principal conductor of the Vienna State Opera.-Early years:...
, Gunther Schuller
Gunther Schuller
Gunther Schuller is an American composer, conductor, horn player, author, historian, and jazz musician.- Biography and works :...
, James DePreist
James DePreist
James Anderson DePreist is an American conductor. One of the few African American conductors on the world stage, he is currently the director of conducting and orchestral studies at the Juilliard School and laureate music director of the Oregon Symphony.-Biography:DePreist was born in Philadelphia...
, Joel Revzen, David Hoose, Craig Smith
Craig Smith (conductor)
Craig Smith was an American conductor who is considered a seminal figure in Boston's Baroque music revival of the 1970s and 1980s. In subsequent years he became increasingly known as an international conductor...
, Kent Tritle
Kent Tritle
Kent Tritle is a choral conductor and organist in New York City, United States. He is the current director of the professional chorus Musica Sacra and of the Oratorio Society of New York, and director of cathedral music and organist at the Cathedral of Saint John the Divine...
, Michael Kleinschmidt, and John Rutter
John Rutter
John Milford Rutter CBE is a British composer, conductor, editor, arranger and record producer, mainly of choral music.-Biography:Born in London, Rutter was educated at Highgate School, where a fellow pupil was John Tavener. He read music at Clare College, Cambridge, where he was a member of the...
.
Mr. Osgood toured nationally with the Boston Camerata
Boston Camerata
The Boston Camerata is an early music ensemble based in Boston, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1954 by Narcissa Williamson, at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, as an adjunct to that museum's musical instrument collection....
and includes in his repertoire such singular works as Distler's Weihnachtsgeschichte and Albert's Into Eclipse. He was a featured soloist with the New York Choral Society on their 1985 tour of Greece. He was soloist in the World Premiere of Richard Emery's Death at Wallowa Valley and Donald Sur
Donald Sur
Donald Young Sur was a Korean-American composer and musicologist. Although he is best known for his large-scale oratorio, Slavery Documents, most of his works were composed for small chamber ensembles. Sur was born in Honolulu and moved with his family to Los Angeles after World War II...
’s Slavery Documents. In 2008, he performed the world premiere of Lior Navok's Slavery Documents 3: And the trains kept coming... with Cantata Singers. He recently performed St. John Passion (Evangelist) at Trinity Church, Boston
Trinity Church, Boston
Trinity Church in the City of Boston, located in the Back Bay of Boston, Massachusetts, is a parish of the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts. The congregation, currently standing at approximately 3,000 households, was founded in 1733. The current rector is The Reverend Anne Bonnyman...
.
Repertoire
Bach: St. John Passion, St. Matthew Passion, b minor Mass, MagnificatBeethoven: Missa Solemnis, Mass in C
Berg: Wozzeck
Bernstein: Chichester Psalms
Britten: War Requiem, St. Nicholas, Cantata Misericordia
Distler: Weihnachtsgeschichte
Handel: Messiah, Saul
Haydn: Creation
Mozart: Tamino Die Zauberflöte, Belmonte Die Entfuehrung aus dem Serail, Almaviva Il Barbiere di Siviglia, Don Ottavio Don Giovanni, Mass in c-minor
Mendelssohn: Paulus, Symphony #2
Navok: Slavery Documents 3: And the trains kept coming
Orff: Carmina Burana
Pinkham: St. Mark Passion
Rossini: Messe di Gloria
Stravinsky: Les Noces
Sur: Slavery Documents
Verdi: Requiem
Vivaldi: Arsilda, Regina di Ponto
Reviews
"The soloist that left me consistently amazed was Osgood. His part includes the demanding role of the narrating Evangelist who sings near the top of the tenor register, as well as arias that show a remarkable range of emotion. Osgood seemed as fresh in his furious finale (``With fear the blackguard is all shaken) aria as he had been two hours earlier in his aria urging the shepherds to hasten to Christ's manger."- Travis Rivers, The Spokesman Review - February 3, 2003
"Osgood, who has a growing national and international reputation as a baroque specialist, gave a brilliant performance from the very first aria 'Every valley shall be exalted' Of the four singers, his ornamentation was the furthest and freshest departure from what singers usually do with the music."
- Ann Le Bar, The Spokesman Review - March 4, 2001