Biography

Full Bio

Praised for his warm lyric tone, musical subtlety, and dedication to text, “Sonorous” (Opera News) and “Suave” (parterre box) baritone Harrison Hintzsche enjoys a diverse career in oratorio, art song, and ensemble singing. His interpretation of Schubert lieder at London’s Wigmore Hall with pianist Graham Johnson in 2018 was noted by Opera Today for displaying a “strong sense of narrative” and “gentle poignancy.” He is the first-place winner of the 2021 Colorado Bach Ensemble Young Artist Competition, as well as the first-place winner of the Edvard Grieg Society of Minnesota's 2018 Voice Competition. He was the first-ever recipient of the William H. Halverson Award, presented by the Edvard Grieg Society of America for an outstanding performance of Grieg’s music.

Hintzsche can be heard singing the bass arias and the role of Pilatus on Cantata Collective’s live performance recording of Bach’s St. John Passion, led by conductor Nicholas McGegan and released by AVIE Records in June 2023. He was praised by the BBC’s Record Review podcast for bringing “a lightness and relaxed lyricism” to the performance of the aria “Mein teurer Heiland, lass mich fragen” with cellist William Skeen. His interpretations of various lieder by composer Luise Greger can be heard on New Muses Project’s inaugural self-titled album, which was released in 2022.

Recent soloist performance highlights include J. S. Bach’s Magnificat with Jos van Veldhoven and the Oregon Bach Festival Chorus, Bach’s St. Matthew Passion (arias) with the Colorado Bach Ensemble, Handel’s Messiah with the Bach Choir of Bethlehem, Bach’s Ich habe genug with Musica Poetica chamber orchestra, a semi-staged version of John Blow’s opera Venus & Adonis (“Adonis”) with Early Music Access Project, a tour of South Korea with the American Soloists Ensemble and conductor Euijoong Yoon, and Finzi’s In Terra Pax and Vaughn Williams’ Fantasia on Christmas Carols with the Choral Society of the Hamptons.

A sought-after ensemble musician, Hintzsche has performed with a variety of vocal ensembles such as the Santa Fe Desert Chorale (Joshua Habermann), the Leonids (Erick Lichte), the Oregon Bach Festival Chorus (Kathy Salzman Romey), True Concord Voices & Orchestra (Eric Holtan), Yale Choral Artists (Jeffrey Douma), Bach Akademie Charlotte (Scott Allen Jarrett), the Handel & Haydn Society, The VocalEssence Ensemble Singers (Philip Brunelle, G. Phillip Shoultz, III.), the Internationale Bachakademie Stuttgart JSB Ensemble (Kathy Salzman Romey, Hans-Christoph Rademann), and Bach Ensemble Helmuth Rilling, among others.

Hintzsche received a Master of Music degree in Early Music Voice from the Yale School of Music, as well as a certificate from the Yale Institute of Sacred Music, in 2020. There, he studied voice with tenor James Taylor and sang with the Yale Schola Cantorum and conductors David Hill and Masaaki Suzuki, and was awarded the Margot Fassler Prize in the Performance of Sacred Music. In 2016, he earned a Bachelor of Music degree in Vocal Performance from St. Olaf College, where he toured with the St. Olaf Choir (Dr. Anton Armstrong) and studied voice with Dr. Robert C. Smith. Other educational credits include the Tafelmusik Summer Baroque Institute, Source Song Festival in Minneapolis, Minnesota; Bach Akademie Charlotte in Charlotte, North Carolina (Vocal Fellow), and SongFest in Los Angeles (Colburn Fellow). Hintzsche has had the immense pleasure of working with several notable musicians such as Graham Johnson, Peter Kooij, Peter Harvey, Masaaki Suzuki, Sanford Sylvan, David Hill, Scott Allen Jarrett, Peter Oundjian, Martin Katz, Håkan Hagegård, Julius Drake, Arlene Shrut, François le Roux, Roger Vignoles, and Patricia Caicedo. 

He is a native of DeKalb, Illinois.

Short Bio (300 words)

Baritone Harrison Hintzsche is a recitalist, concert singer, and ensemble musician who has been praised for his warm lyric tone, musical subtlety, and dedication to text. While enjoying the unique challenge of interpreting music from a wide range of time periods and styles, he finds himself especially at home within the Baroque and art song genres. His interpretation of Schubert at London’s Wigmore Hall with pianist Graham Johnson was noted by Opera Today for a “strong sense of narrative” and “gentle poignancy.” Hintzsche won first prize at the 2021 Colorado Bach Ensemble Young Artist Competition and the 2018 Edvard Grieg Society of Minnesota Voice Competition, and was the 2020 recipient of the Margot Fassler Prize in the Performance of Sacred Music from the Yale Institute of Sacred Music.

Recent soloist performance highlights include Bach’s St. Matthew Passion with the Colorado Bach Ensemble (bass arias), Bach’s Magnificat and St. John Passion (“Pilate”) with the Oregon Bach Festival, Handel’s Messiah with the Bach Choir of Bethlehem, a semi-staged version of John Blow’s opera Venus & Adonis (“Adonis”) with Early Music Access Project, a tour of South Korea with the American Soloists Ensemble and conductor Euijoong Yoon, and Finzi’s In Terra Pax and Vaughn Williams’s Fantasia on Christmas Carols with the Choral Society of the Hamptons. He has recorded Lieder by Luise Greger on New Muses Project’s inaugural self-titled album, as well as the bass arias and role of Pilate on Cantata Collective’s live performance recording of Bach’s St. John Passion, led by Nicholas McGegan and released by AVIE Records in June 2023.

Hintzsche sings regularly with the nation’s leading choral ensembles, including the Santa Fe Desert Chorale, the Oregon Bach Festival Chorus, Yale Choral Artists, True Concord Voices & Orchestra, and Ensemble Altera, among others. He holds degrees in music from Yale University and St. Olaf College, and is a native of DeKalb, Illinois.

Very Short Bio (135 words)

Baritone Harrison Hintzsche is a recitalist, concert singer, and ensemble musician who has been praised for his warm lyric tone, musical subtlety, and dedication to text. His love for Baroque music, art song, and choral music has taken him to world-class stages such as London’s Wigmore Hall, New York’s Alice Tully Hall, and Seoul’s National Theater of Korea. Recent performances include Cantata Collective’s live performance recording of J. S. Bach’s St. John Passion, led by Nicholas McGegan (bass arias, “Pilate”), Bach’s Magnificat with Jos van Veldhoven and the Oregon Bach Festival Chorus, John Blow’s opera Venus & Adonis with Early Music Access Project (“Adonis”), and Finzi’s In Terra Pax with the Choral Society of the Hamptons. He holds degrees in music from the Yale School of Music and St. Olaf College, and is a native of DeKalb, Illinois.