Baritone Ben Kazez has performed in the Monteverdi Choir under Sir John Eliot Gardiner and as soloist at Barcelona’s Petit Palau, Herbst Theatre in San Francisco, and London’s St John’s Smith Square and Milton Court. Read More…
Solo concerts include Bach and Handel under Václav Luks and Shunske Sato at Barcelona’s Petit Palau, Messiah at St John’s Smith Square in London, Handel Theodora at Snape Maltings with Dame Sarah Connolly and Christian Curnyn, Bach cantatas at Barcelona’s L’Auditori and with Mark Padmore at Snape Maltings, Dowland songs with Dame Emma Kirkby, Charpentier Reniement de St Pierre and Carissimi Jepthe at London’s Milton Court Concert Hall, Barber’s Dover Beach at Herbst Theatre in San Francisco, Charpentier Messe à 9 with Tafelmusik Baroque Summer Festival, Brahms German Requiem with San Jose Symphonic Chorus, and Bach B Minor Mass, and Handel L’Allegro and Esther with American Bach Soloists Festival.
Ben has sung in the Monteverdi Choir under Sir John Eliot Gardiner with English Baroque Soloists and Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique at the Salzburg Festival, BBC Proms Royal Albert Hall, Vienna Musikverein, Amsterdam Concertgebouw, Berlin Philharmonie, Venice’s Teatro La Fenice, and Versailles. In Ghislieri Coro e Orchestra, he has performed at Amsterdam Concertgebouw and Festival d’Ambronay, and recorded Jommelli and Gregorian chant for release on Arcana in 2020. He has also sung with Chanticleer alumni in 10-voice ensemble Clerestory, including a benefit concert hosted by Deborah Voigt and Susan Graham.
Operatic roles include Re di Scozia (Ariodante), Zoroastro (Orlando), and Grand Priest (North American premiere of Marais Sémélé). While at London’s Guildhall School of Music and Drama, Ben performed in scenes as Pollux (Castor et Pollux), Consalvo (Handel Almira), Dr Pangloss (Candide), and Sam (Trouble in Tahiti).
Ben’s 2019–20 season included Bach cantata solos in California, Messiah in Cincinnati, Pilate in Bach St John Passion at Amsterdam’s Westerkerk (cancelled due to the pandemic), and Petrus in Bach St Matthew Passion in Cleveland, Columbus, and Ann Arbor with Apollo’s Fire (cancelled due to the pandemic). In 2020–21 he was to sing Bach cantata solos with Cantata Collective and Fauré Requiem in San Luis Obispo, California (both cancelled due to the pandemic). Still on the schedule are a recording of Handel’s Israel in Egypt in the chorus of Apollo's Fire and Bach Cantata 147, Charpentier Messe de minuit, and Vivaldi Gloria as soloist with Bach Collegium San Diego.
At the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, Ben joined forces with flautist Anne Charrier to make baroque vocal repertoire searchable by instrumentation and text. They started with the 1,699 movements from JS Bach cantatas and have so far catalogued several thousand movements of JS Bach, CPE Bach, Handel, Rameau, and many others, so people can browse by instrumentation, text, key, meter, and more.
Ben Kazez graduated magna cum laude from Carleton College in 2007. He became a Britten–Pears Young Artist in 2016 and earned a Master of Music at London’s Guildhall School of Music and Drama on a scholarship in 2018. Before beginning to sing full time, Ben spent five years designing language and travel apps that the New York Times called “brilliant.” He speaks French and Italian.
Upcoming Events
18 March 2021
St Paul’s Episcopal, Akron, Ohio
Handel Israel in Egypt
Apollo’s Fire
Jeannette Sorrell, conductor
19 March 2021
Rocky River Presbyterian, Cleveland
Handel Israel in Egypt
Apollo’s Fire
Jeannette Sorrell, conductor
20 March 2021
First Baptist Church, Cleveland
Handel Israel in Egypt
Apollo’s Fire
Jeannette Sorrell, conductor
20 March 2021
Temple Tifereth Israel, Cleveland
Handel Israel in Egypt
Apollo’s Fire
Jeannette Sorrell, conductor
13 May 2021
Apt, France
Soloist in Bach B Minor Mass
Chœur du Luberon
Johan Riphagen, conductor
14 May 2021
Salon de Provence, France
Soloist in Bach B Minor Mass
Chœur du Luberon
Johan Riphagen, conductor
15 May 2021
Orange, France
Soloist in Bach B Minor Mass
Chœur du Luberon
Johan Riphagen, conductor
Recent Events
13 December 2020
San Diego, California
Soloist in Bach Cantata 147a ‘Herz und Mund und Tat und Leben’
Soloist in Vivaldi Gloria
Bach Collegium San Diego
Ruben Valenzuela, director
12 December 2020
San Diego, California
Soloist in Bach Cantata 147a ‘Herz und Mund und Tat und Leben’
Soloist in Vivaldi Gloria
Bach Collegium San Diego
Ruben Valenzuela, director
29 November 2020
Berkeley, California
Bach Cantatas
Cantata Collective
28 November 2020
Palo Alto, California
Bach Cantatas
Cantata Collective
12 July 2020
Forcalquier, France
Soloist in Bach B Minor Mass
Chœur du Luberon
Johan Riphagen, conductor
11 July 2020
Orange, France
Soloist in Bach B Minor Mass
Chœur du Luberon
Johan Riphagen, conductor
10 July 2020
Salon de Provence, France
Soloist in Bach B Minor Mass
Chœur du Luberon
Johan Riphagen, conductor
9 July 2020
Apt, France
Soloist in Bach B Minor Mass
Chœur du Luberon
Johan Riphagen, conductor
9 May 2020
Festival Monteverdi, Cremona Cathedral
Jommelli Requiem
Coro e Orchestra Ghislieri
Giulio Prandi, conductor
10 April 2020
Westerkerk, Amsterdam
Pilate and arias in Bach St John Passion
Westerkerkkoor
JanJoost van Elburg, conductor
5 April 2020
UMS Series, Hill Auditorium, Ann Arbor
Petrus & Choir 1 in Bach St Matthew Passion
Apollo’s Fire
Jeannette Sorrell, conductor
3 April 2020
Severance Hall, Cleveland
Petrus & Choir 1 in Bach St Matthew Passion
Apollo’s Fire
Jeannette Sorrell, conductor
23 February 2020
Westerkerk, Amsterdam
Soloist in Bach Cantata 22 ‘Jesus nahm zu sich die Zwölfe’
Westerkerkkoor
JanJoost van Elburg, conductor
8 December 2019
Christ Church Cathedral, Cincinnati
Soloist in Handel Messiah
Collegium Cincinnati
Kent Tritle, conductor
7 December 2019
Christ Church Cathedral, Cincinnati
Soloist in Handel Messiah
Collegium Cincinnati
Kent Tritle, conductor
16 November 2019
Concertgebouw, Amsterdam
Mozart Requiem
Jommelli Requiem
Coro e Orchestra Ghislieri
Giulio Prandi, conductor
3 November 2019
St. Mary Magdalen, Berkeley, California
Soloist in Bach Cantata 22 ‘Jesus nahm zu sich die Zwölfe’
Cantata Collective
6 October 2019
Closing Concert, Festival d’Ambronay & France.tv
Bononcini Te Deum
Handel Coronation Anthems
Coro e Orchestra Ghislieri
Giulio Prandi, conductor
8 September 2019
Opéra Royal, Palace of Versailles
Berlioz Benvenuto Cellini
Monteverdi Choir
Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique
Sir John Eliot Gardiner, conductor
2 September 2019
BBC Proms, Royal Albert Hall
Berlioz Benvenuto Cellini
Monteverdi Choir
Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique
Sir John Eliot Gardiner, conductor
31 August 2019
Berlin Philharmonie
Berlioz Benvenuto Cellini
Monteverdi Choir
Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique
Sir John Eliot Gardiner, conductor
29 August 2019
Festival Berlioz, La Côte-St-André
Berlioz Benvenuto Cellini
Monteverdi Choir
Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique
Sir John Eliot Gardiner, conductor
7 August 2019
St Oswald’s, Durham, England
Soloist in Monteverdi Vespers
Bishop’s Consort
David Stancliffe, director
16 July 2019
Petit Palau, Palau de la Musica
Hercules (excerpts) in Handel Hercules
Mercury in Bach Cantata 213 ‘Laßt uns sorgen’
Ensemble BZM
Václav Luks, conductor
3 July 2019
Saint-Denis Festival, Basilique de Saint-Denis, Paris
Verdi Requiem
Monteverdi Choir
Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique
Sir John Eliot Gardiner, conductor
26 May 2019
Westerkerk, Amsterdam
Soloist in Bach Cantata 86 ‘Wahrlich, wahrlich, ich sage euch’
Westerkerkkoor
JanJoost van Elburg, director
4 April 2019
St Andrew’s Corbridge, Durham, England
Christus & Choir 1 Soloist in Bach St Matthew Passion
Bishop’s Consort
David Stancliffe, director
17 March 2019
Berkeley, California
Soloist in Bach Cantata 78 ‘Jesu, der du meine Seele’
Soloist in Bach Cantata 125 ‘Mit Fried und Freud ich fahr dahin’
Cantata Collective
Pacific Boychoir
5 March 2019
CaixaForum, Palma de Mallorca
Soloist in Bach Cantata 22 ‘Jesus nahm zu sich die Zwölfe’
Soloist in Bach Cantata 32 ‘Liebster Jesu, mein Verlangen’
Ensemble BZM
Daniel Tarrida, director
3 March 2019
CaixaForum, Barcelona
Soloist in Bach Cantata 22 ‘Jesus nahm zu sich die Zwölfe’
Soloist in Bach Cantata 32 ‘Liebster Jesu, mein Verlangen’
Ensemble BZM
Daniel Tarrida, director