Messiah Artist – Spencer McKnight

Spencer McKnight

Tenor Spencer McKnight has been described as “one of the finest tenor voices” in Canada.

This year’s performance of Handel’s Messiah sees tenor Spencer McKnight back on stage with the SSO. Returning audiences will know to watch for what vocal heights he will reach this time!

Spencer has garnered much attention both in concert and in competition over the course of the last six years, including multiple awards at a national level, and the 2018 winner of the Gordon C. Wallis Opera Competition.  Though still early in his career, Spencer has had the opportunity to sing a wealth of oratorio repertoire, and recent engagements include the Regina Symphony Orchestra, Regina Philharmonic Choir, and Saskatoon Symphony Orchestra.

In 2017 and 2018, Spencer toured with a recital program entitled Songs of the Great War.  An artistic project many years in the making, the recital featured songs, both popular and art, from the World War One era, including the Canadian premieres of two songs by composer William Dennis Browne. In 2020 Spencer is presenting two new recital programs, including a celebration of Beethoven’s 250th anniversary and a concert dedicated to the songs of Ireland.

Spencer made his international opera debut in Vicenza, Italy this past summer as Don Ottavio in Mozart’s Don Giovanni. He was hailed as having a “clear timbre”.  In March of 2020 he returns to the SSO stage again for the North American premiere of Rebecca Dale’s Materna Requiem – the perform .

As a special treat for Messiah, Spencer gets to stand alongisde and even sing with his past teacher and mentor Lisa Hornung – this year the two have the duet “O Death Where is Thy Sting”, so it will be an extra special moment for them!

His voice is fresh and brassy with stratospheric high notes and perfectly suited for Handel’s glorious tenor arias.

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