Lester Fernandez

Hailing from Southern California, Lester Fernandez had sung all over North America both in concert and in the theatre stages. The Filipino-born American Light Lyric Tenor specializes in the interpretation of Early Music, Opera, Oratorio, and Art songs. He was a featured artist in many music festivals such as the Amherst Early Music Festival, the Boston Early Music Festival, and the Mainly Mozart Festival in San Diego, California.

At the concert stage, Mr. Fernandez was a tenor soloist in Vivaldi's Magnificat RV. 610 with the Artes Vocales of Los Angeles. While in the theatre stage, the male singer had the opportunity to create a wide variety of character roles including the Sailor in"Dido and Aeneas" at the Longy Opera Theatre, the British Soldier in"King Arthur," and the Nurse of Hermione in "Cadmus et Hermione" at the Amherst Early Music Festival. He was also engaged as a singer for various medieval musical plays such as "The Roman de Fauvel" and"The Play of Daniel" with the Boston Camerata Singers under the direction of Anne Azéma.

As a choral singer, the tenor had previously engaged with various professional ensembles such as the San Diego Master Chorale, the San Diego Symphony Orchestra, the La Jolla Renaissance Singers, and the Artes Vocales of Los Angeles.

Mr. Fernandez had participated in several master classes with renowned Early Music singers like Aaron Sheehan, Julianne Baird, Ellen Hargis, Anne Azéma, and Joel Frederiksen. He received his Master of Music in Historical Informed Performance at the Longy School of Music of Bard College under the tutelage of conductor Ryan Lee Turner. He also obtained his Bachelor of Music in Voice Performance at the Bob Cole Conservatory of Music in California State University, Long Beach. His past teachers included Steven Kronauer and Kathleen O' Brien, and Laurie Johnson.