Justin Anthony Spenner
Composer & Baritone
| Years at Source: | 2014, 2016 (J-Term) |
|---|---|
| Biography: | Justin Anthony Spenner has been praised as a “Standout” with “boisterous comic energy” by the Star Tribune, and is known in new music circles for his artistic honesty and engaging versatility. Recent operatic performances include Schaunard (La Bohéme) with Theater Latte Da, Joey (The Most Happy Fella) and Guglielmo (Cosi fan tutte) with Skylark Opera Theatre, John Sorel (The Consul) with Arbeit Opera Theatre, Morales and Dancairo (Carmen) with Pine Mountain Music Festival, 2nd Priest/Armored Man (Zauberflöte) with Lakes Area Music Festival, and Billy Bigelow (Carousel) with American Gothic. As a concert soloist, he has enjoyed performances with St. John’s Music Series (The Messiah, Nikolai Messe, Coronation Mass), ODC Dance Company (The Path of Miracles), Dakota Valley Symphony (In Terra Pax), and South Metro Chorale (Ein Deutsches Requiem), as well as various recital programs throughout the Midwest. In his life as a new music specialist, he has performed world premieres of works by Joey Crane, Tiffany Skidmore, Sam Krahn, and Josh Musikantow. His choreographed staging of Schubert’s Die Winterreise was labeled as “Breathtaking” by the Shepard Express. An avid educator, Justin maintains a full studio, and presents opera immersion classes which highlight the importance of creation, storytelling, and community. |
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| Source Moment: | My favorite memory was the premiere of my setting of In Normandy by Richard Meacock. Richard was a dear friend of mine and a life-long mentor of my partner, Kelly. The process of setting this music proved to be one of the last periods of contact we had with him before he decided to let cancer win about 6 months later. The poem was long so I approached it as a single-poem song cycle, but had to omit the middle two movements because of time constraints. Richard was unable to attend the premiere because of his health, but I sent a bootleg phone recording immediately after. His response, in his wry, impish, but austere British accent: ""Oh, it was FINE, but you could've troubled yourself to set the rest"". Richard saved wit and snark for times when most people convey love and gratitude. Everyone who knew him absolutely LIVED for those moments. Source Song Festival gave me my last one of those moments, and for that I will always be grateful. |