Peruvian-American tenor Christopher Sierra is recognized for their artistic sensitivity and versatility in repertoire ranging from classical, musical theatre, to contemporary commercial music. They have performed with opera companies and orchestras throughout the United States, some of which include Opera Philadelphia, Santa Fe Opera, Opera New Jersey, Spoleto Festival USA, New York Lyric Opera Theatre, Princeton Festival Opera, Long Island Opera, and the United Nations Symphony Orchestra. Dr. Sierra has also made solo debuts in Germany, France, Italy, Switzerland, Austria, Luxembourg, and India.
On the concert stage, Dr. Sierra has performed works such as Bernstein's Songfest, Schumann’s Spanisches Liederspiel, Britten’s Les Illuminations, Bach’s Weihnachts-Oratorium, Haydn’s Lord Nelson Mass, Brahms’s Liebeslieder Walzer, Vaughan Williams’s Serenade to Music, and Schubert’s Mass in G. Most recently, they were invited to sing the tenor solo in Beethoven’s Symphony No.9 with the Mendelssohn Club of Philadelphia and were a featured soloist in Peter Bjerring’s Song of the Salish Chief at Alice Tully Hall in Lincoln Center.
An avid recitalist, Dr. Sierra is a founding member of the Vocalis Consort, an ensemble dedicated to exposing audiences to song recitals that extend beyond the traditional Western European canon. In 2019, they were invited to perform a residency recital that celebrates the contributions of Latinx and Hispanic composers at Lewis-Clark State College and they presented mélodies by Henri Duparc at the 2018 College Music Society Pacific Northwest Regional Conference.
As a recording artist, Dr. Sierra can be heard on The Flower of Beauty (2009) with the Westminster Choir, Landscape: Choral Music of Gerald Custer (2008) with Anam Cara, and Teaching Music Through Performance in Choir, Volume 2 (2007) with the Grammy-nominated Westminster Williamson Voices. They have sung under the baton of Pierre Boulez, Leon Botstein, Christoph Eschenbach, Ton Koopman, Lorin Maazel, Kurt Masur, David Robertson, John Rutter, Emmanuel Villaume, John Adams, and Franz Welser-Möst during their tenure with the Westminster Symphonic Choir, MidAmerica Productions, and the New York City MasterVoices.
Sought after for their research in crossing genres, Dr. Sierra has been invited to present lectures at College Conservatories and Universities throughout the United States, including The Hartt School of Music at the University of Hartford, University of Connecticut, Troy University, Belmont University, Florida International University, etc. Their notable research and presentations also address vocal health, phonotrauma and rehabilitation, performance anxiety, and vocal pedagogy for gender expansive singers. In July of 2022, they will present, “A Culturally Responsive Teaching Lens in the Music Classroom and Applied Studio” at the College Music Society International Conference.
Dr. Sierra has led vocal master classes and teaching demonstrations domestically and internationally at institutions like Stanford University, Indiana University at South Bend, University of The Bahamas, Iceland University of the Arts, and Fundación Cultural Armonía in Quito, Ecuador. They currently oversees the music program at the Shanti Bhavan Children’s Project in Tamil-Nadu, India and has taught developing musicians at the Tomas de Berlanga School on the island of Santa Cruz, Galapagos, as a member of Broadway for Arts Education, an organization committed to providing quality arts education to communities in need around the world.
In addition to teaching for the Holden Voice Program at Harvard University, Dr. Sierra teaches voice at Tufts University, SUNY Potsdam, and the Longy School of Music of Bard College, where they also instruct courses in the Masters of Music Education Program.
Dr. Sierra holds a doctorate of musical arts degree in voice performance from Rutgers University, a master of education degree in music education from Columbia University, a master of music degree in classical voice performance from Manhattan School of Music, and bachelor of music degrees in music education and voice performance from Westminster Choir College.
On the concert stage, Dr. Sierra has performed works such as Bernstein's Songfest, Schumann’s Spanisches Liederspiel, Britten’s Les Illuminations, Bach’s Weihnachts-Oratorium, Haydn’s Lord Nelson Mass, Brahms’s Liebeslieder Walzer, Vaughan Williams’s Serenade to Music, and Schubert’s Mass in G. Most recently, they were invited to sing the tenor solo in Beethoven’s Symphony No.9 with the Mendelssohn Club of Philadelphia and were a featured soloist in Peter Bjerring’s Song of the Salish Chief at Alice Tully Hall in Lincoln Center.
An avid recitalist, Dr. Sierra is a founding member of the Vocalis Consort, an ensemble dedicated to exposing audiences to song recitals that extend beyond the traditional Western European canon. In 2019, they were invited to perform a residency recital that celebrates the contributions of Latinx and Hispanic composers at Lewis-Clark State College and they presented mélodies by Henri Duparc at the 2018 College Music Society Pacific Northwest Regional Conference.
As a recording artist, Dr. Sierra can be heard on The Flower of Beauty (2009) with the Westminster Choir, Landscape: Choral Music of Gerald Custer (2008) with Anam Cara, and Teaching Music Through Performance in Choir, Volume 2 (2007) with the Grammy-nominated Westminster Williamson Voices. They have sung under the baton of Pierre Boulez, Leon Botstein, Christoph Eschenbach, Ton Koopman, Lorin Maazel, Kurt Masur, David Robertson, John Rutter, Emmanuel Villaume, John Adams, and Franz Welser-Möst during their tenure with the Westminster Symphonic Choir, MidAmerica Productions, and the New York City MasterVoices.
Sought after for their research in crossing genres, Dr. Sierra has been invited to present lectures at College Conservatories and Universities throughout the United States, including The Hartt School of Music at the University of Hartford, University of Connecticut, Troy University, Belmont University, Florida International University, etc. Their notable research and presentations also address vocal health, phonotrauma and rehabilitation, performance anxiety, and vocal pedagogy for gender expansive singers. In July of 2022, they will present, “A Culturally Responsive Teaching Lens in the Music Classroom and Applied Studio” at the College Music Society International Conference.
Dr. Sierra has led vocal master classes and teaching demonstrations domestically and internationally at institutions like Stanford University, Indiana University at South Bend, University of The Bahamas, Iceland University of the Arts, and Fundación Cultural Armonía in Quito, Ecuador. They currently oversees the music program at the Shanti Bhavan Children’s Project in Tamil-Nadu, India and has taught developing musicians at the Tomas de Berlanga School on the island of Santa Cruz, Galapagos, as a member of Broadway for Arts Education, an organization committed to providing quality arts education to communities in need around the world.
In addition to teaching for the Holden Voice Program at Harvard University, Dr. Sierra teaches voice at Tufts University, SUNY Potsdam, and the Longy School of Music of Bard College, where they also instruct courses in the Masters of Music Education Program.
Dr. Sierra holds a doctorate of musical arts degree in voice performance from Rutgers University, a master of education degree in music education from Columbia University, a master of music degree in classical voice performance from Manhattan School of Music, and bachelor of music degrees in music education and voice performance from Westminster Choir College.
