Backstage at DAR Constitution Hall with James G. Roche, former Secretary of the Air Force
Note: the biographical information presented below is a summary; please do not copy any of its content for use in programs or other printed material. Please contact Steven for an official bio, edited according to the space requirements of the material being printed. Thank you.
Praised by the New York Times as “a powerful, polished and moving Evangelist” for his April 2011 performance in the Matthew Passion of C.P.E. Bach, tenor Steven Caldicott Wilson is a frequent interpreter of early music both as a soloist and as a small ensemble member. Also in April 2011, he performed the aria Geduld in the Matthew Passion of J.S. Bach with the American Classical Orchestra at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine (for which he received a mention in the New York Times along with the Evangelist Rufus Müller and Charles Robert Stephens as Jesus). Mr. Wilson made his Carnegie Hall solo debut in December 2010 in Handel’s Messiah with Andrew Megill and The Masterwork Chorus. In March 2011, he sang the arias and ensemble parts in Bach’s B Minor Mass at St. Thomas Church NYC; he also sang arias and ensemble parts in an 8-singer performance of Bach’s Saint John Passion of 1725 with Chatham Baroque in Pittsburgh. In May 2011, he sang the title role in Judas Maccabaeus with the Clarion Music Society in NYC under the baton of Steven Fox.
An avid supporter of new music, Mr. Wilson recently premiered the solos in James Blachly’s Nunc Per Speculum in Aenigmate at Trinity Church Wall Street, and has performed the work of Petr Kotík in Prague, Berlin, and Manhattan. Steven is in his fifth season as a gentleman of the Choir of Men and Boys at Saint Thomas Church NYC, and since the fall of 2008, he has been on the voice faculty of the Turtle Bay Music School in Manhattan. Steven is a graduate of the Yale University Voice Masters program in early music, where he was a student of James Taylor, and he completed his undergraduate degree at Ithaca College as a student of David Parks. From 2001-2005, Mr. Wilson was an enlisted member of the United States Air Force Band Singing Sergeants. Steven attended Duquesne University for 2.5 years as a piano performance major, and was seen in 2008 at the Duplex in NYC performing a cabaret program of solo vocals and piano/vocal duets.
Complete Biography:
Steven is an engaging and versatile musician, combining sensitive expression with a disciplined attention to detail. His career, which includes professional solo and ensemble performances in four European countries and an enlistment in the United States Air Force Band Singing Sergeants, has focused not only on historical performance practice but also the performance of new music. Additionally, Steven is a skilled pianist, teacher, and coach, and has been featured as a cabaret-style entertainer. A native of the Washington DC area, he has been based in New York City since September 2007. He travels frequently, domestically and abroad, and eagerly pursues opportunities to prepare new works and to interpret historical music.
In the 2009-2010 season, he performed Bach’s Cantata 78 and Cantata 102 in recital with the Louisville Bach Society—where he returned in October 2010 to sing the title role in Handel’s Joshua. He was a soloist and ensemble member in 2010′s first performance of Monteverdi’s Vespers as part of the Green Mountain Project in New York City. Additionally that season, Mr. Wilson performed Britten’s Abraham and Isaac and solos in Monteverdi’s Vespers at St. Thomas Church in New York City; he was also seen in Portland, Maine, singing Mozart’s Requiem in collaboration with the Portland Choral Art Society and Portland Ballet. He returned to the Carmel Bach Festival in July 2010, where in 2009 he sang in the solo quartet in Mendelssohn’s Psalm 42; in 2010, he was a soloist in their performances of Monteverdi’s Vespers.
Steven and his late grandfather, Edward Caldicott
In April 2009, Steven sang the arias in Bach’s St. Matthew Passion with John Scott at Saint Thomas Church, and in February 2009, he sang the opening solo in Lars Edlund’s Gloria under the direction of Stefan Parkman at Trinity Church in New York City. October 2008 saw Mr. Wilson performing with Petr Kotík in Prague, Berlin, and Manhattan.
Steven completed his undergraduate degree in voice performance at Ithaca College. In September 2005, Steven began as a member of the second quartet of students in the new two-year masters degree program at Yale University in Vocal Performance, with a concentration in Early Music, Oratorio, and Chamber Ensemble; the students in this degree program comprise the Yale Voxtet. While at Yale, Steven gave a recital devoted to the music of Benjamin Britten and was a soloist in Bach’s Magnificat and St. John Passion, Monteverdi’s Vespers, and Beethoven’s Mass in C.
In the summer of 2001, Steven performed the role of Frederic in 52 performances of Pirates of Penzance at the Folger Theatre in Washington, DC. He was recruited for the US Air Force Band Singing Sergeants as a civilian in the spring of 2001, and completed his enlistment in 2005. During his enlistment, Steven gave many performances at the White House and was a featured vocal soloist on many concerts, recordings, and tours. He was the male lead in Born of a Dream, a Broadway-style musical produced by the USAF Band, performed at the National Theater in Washington, DC and the Kodak Theater in Los Angeles, CA. Please see the video page on this site for clips from Steven’s performance in Born of a Dream.
A skilled pianist and cabaret performer, Steven has performed at the Duplex in New York City and frequently entertains for private parties and events. He is currently a member of the St. Thomas Choir of Men and Boys in New York City, and maintains a private teaching and coaching studio at the Turtle Bay Music School in Manhattan.
