Biography
American tenor Christopher Pfund has performed to critical acclaim with countless major orchestras and oratorio festivals throughout North America including the Cleveland Orchestra, the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Houston Symphony, the Detroit Symphony, the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, the Bach Festival Society of Winter Park, the New York Oratorio Society, and the Orchestra of St. Luke鈥檚. International engagements have included performances in the Czech Republic, Germany, Canada, Mexico, Costa Rica, and Brazil. Critics have praised his 鈥渞ounded vocal beauty鈥� and The New York Times called his voice an 鈥渁ttractive tenor [that] helps define a sympathetic character.鈥�
Universally recognized for his irreverent portrayals of the roasting swan in Orff鈥檚 Carmina Burana, Pfund has made the role a pillar of his career with over 200 performances on three continents. His wide repertoire includes not only the standard Baroque masterpieces such as Bach鈥檚 Mass in B minor and Handel鈥檚 Messiah but also much of the 20th century canon of concert repertoire including Britten鈥檚 War Requiem and the Klaus-Narr from Schoenberg鈥檚 Gurre-Lieder.
In addition to his oratorio work with orchestra, Pfund has also enjoyed success on the opera stage, including engagements with Glimmerglass Opera, New York City Opera, Florentine Opera, Santa Fe Opera, and the Orchestra of St. Luke鈥檚.
A consummate recitalist, Pfund regularly presents performances of the song cycles of Schubert, Schumann, Britten, and Brahms as well as other celebrated composers of the classical song literature. Recordings include the title role in Britten鈥檚 Albert Herring on the Vox label, Distant Playing Fields: Vocal Music of Amy Beach and William Mayer on Newport Classics, and Carmina Burana with Fabio Mechetti and the Jacksonville Symphony.
An impassioned performer of contemporary music, Pfund is a frequent collaborator in revivals of 20th Century works and the creation of new works. Highlights of these performances include the role of Richard in the New York City premiere of Ernst Krenek鈥檚 Vertrauenssache with Elysium between Two Continents, Sir Gower Lackland in the revival of Howard Hanson鈥檚 Merry Mount at Carnegie Hall鈥檚 Spring for Music Festival with the Rochester Philharmonic, and the creation of Rev. Eugene Hendrix in the world-premiere production of Gregory Vajda鈥檚 opera Georgia Bottoms with the Huntsville Symphony Orchestra.
In September of 2019, Pfund was awarded the Doctor of Musical Arts degree from The City University of New York Graduate Center. His dissertation, 鈥淛ohann Nauwach鈥檚 Te眉tscher Villanellen; A Critical Performance Edition with Performance Practice Commentary,鈥� was published by ProQuest in 2019. Pfund鈥檚 current research interests include early seventeenth-century song and performance practice as well as historic German diction.
Dr. Pfund is currently the President of the National Opera Association. He holds degrees from the University of Northern Colorado, Manhattan School of Music, and The City University of New York Graduate Center. In addition, he was a 20th Century song recitalist at the Banff Centre in Banff, Canada. Awards include the Richard F. Gold Career Grant from the Shoshana Foundation. Pfund is currently Associate Professor of Music at the University of 榴莲视频 teaching voice and vocal pedagogy. Before joining UF, he was an Associate Professor of Voice and Voice area coordinator at the University of Florida. He has also held positions at the University of Idaho, Hartwick and Manhattanville Colleges.