“A shining tenor…”

Artwork: Lee Becker, Lindsborg, KS. Sketched live during a performance in 2024.

> Overview

James Reese sings with a voice The Washington Post praises as "bright, agile, and full of heart." Known for expressive immediacy and connection to text, he brings eloquence and intimacy to repertoire spanning from the medieval period to the present day.

In the 2026-27 season, James enjoys a wide range of projects and repertoire, giving performances throughout the United States and Canada. Of particular note: Purcell's King Arthur with Tafelmusik in Toronto; Handel's Messiah at the Grand Rapids Symphony and the Tucson Symphony Orchestra; two engagements with the Victoria Symphony, and Handel's La Resurrezione with Early Music Vancouver. James also looks forward to Mozart by the beach with Bach Collegium San Diego, and Bach in the mountains with Baroque Music Montana.

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Fall 2026

Sep 25–26, 2026
Manhattan, NYC

Monteverdi's Orfeo

Tenet Vocal Artists

James Reese, Apollo & Pastore

The earliest complete musical drama. Can Orfeo's beautiful music move Plutone to release Euridice from the Underworld? Join the chorus of Nymphs and Shepherds as the tale unfolds.

Oct 1–4, 2026
Throughout Ohio

Variant 6 on Tour

Program details forthcoming.

Oct 8, 2026
Manhattan, NYC

Mozart – Requiem

St. Thomas Church Fifth Avenue

Richard Tanner, conductor
Nola Richardson, soprano
Sara Couden, alto
James Reese, tenor
Enrico Lagasca, bass-baritone

Oct 17–18, 2026
San Diego, CA

Salzburg Connections

Bach Collegium San Diego · Ruben Valenzuela, conductor

Mozart – Vesperae solennes de confessore, K. 339
Michael Haydn – Requiem in C minor, MH 155
Mozart – Ave verum corpus, K. 618

Sherezade Panthaki, soprano
Cecilia Duarte, mezzo-soprano
James Reese, tenor
Tyler Duncan, baritone

Oct 23–25, 2026
Seattle, WA

Bach – Mass in B Minor

Seattle Bach Festival

James Reese, tenor

Full cast TBA.

Nov 7, 2026
Manhattan, NYC

Mozart – Mass in C Minor

Kollective366

Nola Richardson, soprano
Michaela Larsen, mezzo-soprano
James Reese, tenor
Enrico Lagasca, bass-baritone

Nov 20–21, 2026
Grand Rapids, MI

Handel – Messiah

Grand Rapids Symphony · Patrick Quigley, conductor

Hannah De Priest, soprano
Diana Moore, alto
James Reese, tenor
Douglas Williams, bass
Grand Rapids Symphony Chorus · Pearl Shangkuan, director

Dec 4–6, 2026
Philadelphia, PA

In the Midwinter Light

Piffaro, The Renaissance Band

James Reese, tenor

Dec 11–13, 2026
Victoria, BC, Canada

Messiah by Candlelight

Victoria Symphony · Giuseppe Pietraroia, conductor

Sarah Dufresne, soprano
Georgia Burashko, mezzo-soprano
James Reese, tenor
Sumner Thompson, baritone
Victoria Choral Society · Brian Wismath, conductor
Christ Church Cathedral Young Choristers

Dec 17–20, 2026
Tucson, AZ

Handel – Messiah

Tucson Symphony Orchestra · Patrick Quigley, conductor

Kathryn Mueller, soprano
Emily Marvosh, contralto
James Reese, tenor
Jonathon Adams, baritone

Winter & Spring 2027

Jan 15–16, 2027
Philadelphia, PA

Music for Low Voices

Variant 6

Details forthcoming.

Jan 20–23, 2027
New York City & Milwaukee

Auld Acquaintances

Tenet Vocal Artists

James Reese, tenor

Heartwarming Scottish folk songs featuring the poetry of Robert Burns, near the anniversary of his birth. An intimate chamber program that transports you to the beauty of the Scottish countryside.

Jan 27, 2027
Manhattan, NYC

Twelfth Night at the Morgan Library

Twelfth Night Ensemble · The Morgan Library

James Reese, tenor

Details forthcoming.

Feb 5–7, 2027
Cambridge, MA
Feb 9, 2027
Philadelphia, PA

Philadelphia Bach Collective

Bach – Jesu, meine Freude, BWV 227
Bach – Der Herr denket an uns, BWV 196

Rebecca Myers, soprano
Gabriela Solis, mezzo-soprano
James Reese, tenor
Daniel Schwartz, bass-baritone

Feb 13, 2027
New Castle, DE

Brandon Acker & James Reese — In Recital

Immanuel Church on the Green

Feb 26–28, 2027
Denver, CO

Bach – Mass in B Minor

Colorado Bach Ensemble · James Kim, artistic director

Nola Richardson, soprano
Abigail Nims, mezzo-soprano
James Reese, tenor
Enrico Lagasca, bass-baritone
Harrison Hintzsche, baritone

Mar 4–5, 2027
Manhattan & Philadelphia, PA

Bach – St. John Passion

Tenet Vocal Artists & Philadelphia Bach Collective

James Reese, Evangelist
Paul Max Tipton, Jesus Harrison Hintzsche, Pilate
Jolle Greenleaf, soprano
Rebecca Myers, soprano
Kristen Dubenion-Smith, mezzo-soprano
Tim Parsons, countertenor
Dann Coakwell, tenor
Gene Stenger, tenor

Mar 12–14, 2027
Bozeman, MT

Bach – Mass in B Minor

Baroque Music Montana

Jessica Beebe, soprano
Aryssa Burrs, mezzo-soprano
James Reese, tenor
Edmund Milly, bass-baritone

Mar 19–21, 2027
Victoria, BC, Canada

Bach – Mass in B Minor

Victoria Symphony · Otto Tausk, conductor

Yulia Van Doren, soprano
Danielle Reutter-Harrah, soprano
Sara Couden, alto
James Reese, tenor
Sumner Thompson, baritone
Vancouver Chamber Choir

Mar 25, 2027
Vancouver, BC, Canada

Handel – La Resurrezione

Early Music Vancouver

Angelo: Emma Feket
Maria Magdalena: Jacqueline Woodley
Maria Cloephas: Rose Naggar-Tremblay
St-John Evangelist: James Reese
Lucifer: Jonathan Wood
with the Pacific Baroque Orchestra, directed by Alexander Weimann

Apr 16-17, 2027
Wilmington, NC

Bach – St. Matthew Passion

Cape Fear Chorale

James Reese, Evangelist
Aaron Peisner, Conductor

Apr 22–25, 2027
Toronto, ON, Canada

Purcell – King Arthur

Tafelmusik · Ivars Taurins, conductor

R.H. Thomson, narrator
Ellen McAteer, soprano
James Reese, tenor
Nicholas Higgs, baritone
Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra and Choir

Apr 30–May 2, 2027
Cambridge, MA
May 7–9, 2027
New York City & Philadelphia, PA

Light As Air – French Airs

Tenet Vocal Artists

James Reese, tenorprogram curator

An evening of airs de cour for voices and lute — songs of the 17th-century French court by Lambert, Moulinié, and Boësset. Supremely sophisticated and elegant, offering singer and listener an intimate connection with poetry.

May 13–15, 2027
Bethlehem, PA

Bethlehem Bach Festival

Bach Choir of Bethlehem · Christopher Jackson, conductor

Bach – St. Matthew Passion
Bach – Mass in B Minor

Full cast details forthcoming.

Summer 2027

Jun 1–8, 2027
Throughout Montana

On Tour: French Airs de Cour

Baroque Music Montana

James Reese, tenor

Jun 2027
Philadelphia, PA

Month of Moderns 2027

The Crossing

> Overview

James Reese delivers dynamic performances that connect audiences to music. A specialist in early repertoire and a champion of new works, James’ rare ability to impart emotional immediacy on music from Bach to the present day has earned him overwhelming critical acclaim over the course of a multifaceted career. 

He brings his "shining tenor and forthright delivery” to a wide range of projects in the 2025-26 season. Of particular note: Messiah with the Kansas City and Baltimore Symphonies and St. Thomas Fifth Avenue (NYC); a featured recital with soprano Maya Kherani at Opera Lafayette; A Bach Celebration with Tafelmusik alongside soprano Myriam LeBlanc; a re-staging of Concert Theatre Works’ Markus Passion with storied actor Joseph Marcell; and a series of recitals with his collaborator, lutenist Brandon Acker. He also looks forward to collaborating with the Apple Hill String Quartet, recording and giving the world premiere of Gregory W. Brown’s Rural Hours.

Contact James

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