Rodrick Dixon
Rodrick Dixon possesses a tenor voice of extraordinary range and versatility that has earned him the respect and attention of leading conductors, orchestras, and opera companies throughout North America, including: Los Angeles Opera, Michigan Opera Theater, Todi Music Festival, Portland Opera, Opera Columbus, Virginia,,Cincinnati Opera, and Opera Southwest.
On the concert stage, he is a frequent soloist of the Cincinnati May Festival. Other organizations where he has appeared include The Cleveland Orchestra, The Philadelphia Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Ravinia Festival, American Symphony Orchestra, Atlanta Symphony, Vail Music Festival, Kimmel Center, and The Longfellow Chorus for a program of works by Samuel Coleridge-Taylor. He has also performed at Sydney Arts Festival in Australia and in Mongolia at the Miss World Competition.. Last season includes appearances with the Enescu Festival in the title role of Zemlinsky’s Der Zwerg, Philadelphia Orchestra for Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis, Florida Orchestra for Mozart’s Requiem, Calvin University for Handel’s Messiah, the Richmond Symphony, Greensboro Symphony, Alexandria Symphony for Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 and appearances in Detroit and Chicago for Too Hot to Handel. The coming season includes notable debuts with the New York Philharmonic, Baltimore Symphony, and Nashville Symphony among others.
He has appeared on television in a number of PBS specials. He was part of the original cast of Ragtime on Broadway, and in Show Boat at the Auditorium Theatre. He has also appeared on recordings (Sony/BMG), PBS Great Performances’ Cook, Dixon & Young Volume One, Follow That Star Christmas CD, Liam Lawton’s Sacred Land, Rodrick Dixon Live in Concert, and a Christmas album with the Cincinnati Pops.
Artist Impact Statement
The history of “THE JONAH PEOPLE” is filled with struggle and triumph. It covers the diaspora of the transatlantic slave trade that created a bridge between Africa and America. The metaphor of the bridge represents the belly of the ship carrying my ancestors to the new world. I have been raised and educated in the music schools of New York. Playing the Griot and Seer has allowed me to explore my talents with an African sensibility. I am grateful for this privilege to help others understand how vital my characters were to keeping the history of my people. Join me in seeing “a time when the land is not crying!” To God be the glory.