Voice / Opera Studies
faculty
Renowned Tenor and Voice Teacher Richard Cox Joins SFCM as Voice Department Debuts Expanded Curriculum
September 17, 2024
Q&A
What is your hometown?
Chattanooga, Tennessee
What are you passionate about outside of music?
Theater, Cooking, Spending time with my friends and family
What is a favorite quote that you tell students?
“It’s your voice, so it’s YOUR choice!”
"As singers, the only thing we can truly control is our preparation level."
"There is a vitality, a life force, an energy, a quickening that is translated through you into action, and because there is only one of you in all of time, this expression is unique. And if you block it, it will never exist through any other medium and it will be lost. The world will not have it. It is not your business to determine how good it is nor how valuable nor how it compares with other expressions. It is your business to keep it yours clearly and directly, to keep the channel open. You do not even have to believe in yourself or your work. You have to keep yourself open and aware to the urges that motivate you. Keep the channel open. ... No artist is pleased. [There is] no satisfaction whatsoever at any time. There is only a queer divine dissatisfaction, a blessed unrest that keeps us marching and makes us more alive than the others."
-Martha Graham (to Agnes de Mille after the 1943 opening of OKLAHOMA!)
What was a turning point in your career?
Auditioning for Frank Corsaro and Marilyn Horne within a few weeks of each other. Marilyn accepted me as a Vocal Fellow at the Music Academy of the West and I joined the Juilliard Opera Center where I began my work with Frank. Both became important mentors to me.
If you weren't a musician or teacher, what do you think you would be doing now?
I would likely do something involved in Student Affairs within a performing arts educational institution.
What was the defining moment when you decided to pursue music as a career?
I would have to say it was meeting my high school chorus teacher, Judy Reich. I had never met anyone like her. Endless energy, high expectations, and a commitment to exposing us to the power of what music had to offer the world.
What is your unrealized project?
Hhhhmmmm… Personally, I would love to have been an actor that was able to work with the ensemble on The Carol Burnett show during its run in the 60s and 70s. Absolute comedic gold!
What do you think makes a concert experience unique?
The connection between the stage and audience. When it happens the feeling is absolutely electric! I have been fortunate to experience this in all different genres, although I find I am most affected by those moments that include the unamplified human voice.
What are your most exciting collaborations?
The most exciting collaborations have been with those who have shaped me as an artist.
These include, directors Kristine McIntyre, Frank Corsaro, and Paul Curran; my Alexander Technique teacher, Lori Schiff; my long-time coach and pianist, Marijo Newman; and Integrative Performance Coach and mezzo-soprano Beth Clayton.
I would be remiss not to include the collaborations that I have with my students. Creating a shared individual instructional language is one of the most exciting and gratifying experiences of my life!
What recordings can we hear you on?
Two Boys (Muhly), Metropolitan Opera/David Robertson, Nonesuch
Palestrina (Pfitzner), Oper Frankfurt/Kirill Petrenko, Oehms Klassik
Das Rheingold (Wagner) Oper Frankfurt/Sebastian Weigle, Oehms Klassik
Der Zerbrochene Krug (Ullmann), LA Opera, James Conlon, Arthaus Musik
What is your daily practice routine?
I warm up and vocalize myself and study the music that my students are working on in their lessons
Biography
Richard Cox possesses a profound knowledge of not only the complex mechanics of voice technique, but perhaps more importantly, a deep understanding of precisely the level of work and dedication it takes to master the art of singing. He comprehends thoroughly the psychological and physical challenges of performing on the operatic stage, and has an uncanny ability to navigate those waters with incredible clarity and, thankfully, a beautiful humility with his students. Simply put, he is a true treasure."
— Grammy award-winning mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato
Critically acclaimed as a "brilliant" and "bold" performer that has traversed some of the most eminent performing arts venues in the world, with a voice described as an "impressive, substantial tenor, rock solid in its delivery," Richard Cox will take those unique skills and more to SFCM when he joins its lauded faculty in 2025. Cox will be a Professor of Voice and Executive Chair of the Voice program.
The American tenor has appeared in many distinguished opera houses, including the Metropolitan Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Los Angeles Opera, Washington National Opera, Teatro Municipal de Santiago, Palau de les Arts Reina Sofía, Glimmerglass Festival, The Wexford Festival Opera, Sächsische Staatsoper Dresden, and Oper Frankfurt.
An accomplished concert singer and recitalist, Cox has appeared as the tenor soloist in Mahler’s Das Lied von der Erde (Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Tucson Symphony Orchestra); Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 (Seattle Symphony, National Symphony Orchestra); with the Collegiate Chorale and Orchestra of St. Luke's at Carnegie Hall; American Symphony Orchestra; and made his New York recital debut on the Marilyn Horne Foundation’s On Wings of Song recital series.
Cox serves on the voice faculty of the Metropolitan Opera Lindemann Young Artist Development Program and the San Francisco Opera Center Adler Fellowship Program. Additionally, Mr. Cox has worked with singers at the University of North Florida, Westminster Choir College, Arizona State University, Tucson Desert Song Festival, and the TU Dublin Conservatoire. Before coming to SFCM, Cox served on the faculty of the Bard College Conservatory of Music Graduate Vocal Arts Program (VAP) and was the Vocal Consultant for the Detroit Opera Resident Artist Program.
The recipient of numerous awards and scholarships, Richard Cox has earned grants from the George and Nora London Foundation for Singers, Sullivan Foundation, Opera Index Inc., the Olga Forrai Foundation, Licia Albanese-Puccini Foundation, and the Shoshana Foundation. He has been honored with a Lucrezia Bori Grant for foreign study, the Vocal Arts Honors Recital at Alice Tully Hall, and the Campbell Watcher Memorial Award for singers from Santa Fe Opera. Mr. Cox holds degrees from Tennessee Technological University, Florida State University, and The Juilliard School.