Acclaimed by the Washington Post for his “sterling performances,” baritone Brian Ming Chu has established himself onstage as a dynamic interpreter of music from the Baroque to the Great American Songbook.  Hailed for his “rich, authoritative tone” (Kansas City Metropolis), and “range, agility, and expressive storytelling ability” (Monterey Herald), he has been a regular soloist with the Bach Choir of Bethlehem, Brandywine Baroque, the Dryden Ensemble, La Fiocco, The King’s Noyse, Piffaro, the Choral Arts Society of Philadelphia, Portland Baroque Orchestra, Washington Bach Consort, as well as the Caramoor and Carmel Bach music festivals.  

A specialist in oratorio and choral music, he has given numerous performances in the title role of Mendelssohn’s Elijah, the Bach Passions, Haydn’s Creation, the Brahms, Mozart and Verdi Requiems, and Handel’s Messiah on three continents.  Additional credits include Orff’s Carmina Burana, Finzi’s In terra pax, Vaughan Williams’ Dona nobis pacem, and Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony.  Mr. Chu made his Kennedy Center debut in Monteverdi’s Vespers of 1610 with the Choral Arts Society of Washington.  On the operatic stage, he has performed with opera companies around the country, in signature roles including Marcello (La Bohème), the Count (The Marriage of Figaro), Figaro (The Barber of Seville), and Silvio (Pagliacci).  With the Bethlehem Bach Choir, he premiered multiple roles in their newly-commissioned (2014) opera, Young Meister Bach.  

He has appeared in recital at Carnegie’s Weill and Merkin Halls in New York, the Annenberg Center for the Arts, Washington’s Phillips Collection, and as a US Embassy Cultural Artist in French West Africa and Vienna, Austria.  Mr. Chu did his graduate work in voice and opera at the Peabody Conservatory of Music, and holds a bachelor’s degree in architecture from Cornell University.  He has taught additionally on the voice faculties of Haverford and Swarthmore Colleges, Lehigh University, and Rowan University.