Joel Balzun

Southern california district governor

email: southerncaliforniagovernor@nats.org

Praised as a "mature artist with a voluminous sound," baritone and composer Joel Balzun has held teaching posts at Biola University, Fullerton College, Pepperdine University, University of Rochester and University of Southern California. He is the Winner of the 2021 Fulham Opera Robert Presley Memorial Verdi Prize, and prize-winner in Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition (Los Angeles District and Western Region) and Pasadena Vocal Competition. His continually-expanding repertoire includes the title roles of Don Giovanni  and Gianni Schicchi, Giorgio Germont (La traviata), Scarpia (Tosca), Marcello (La bohème) the Four Villains in Les contes d'Hoffmann, Prince Yeletskiy and Count Tomskiy  (Pikovaya Dama). Albert (Werther),  Belcore  (L'elisir d'amore), Dr. Malatesta (Don Pasquale),  Valentin  (Faust),  Sid (Albert Herring) and John Brooke (Adamo’s Little Women), among others, with companies including Opera Saratoga, Pacific Opera Project, Pittsburgh Festival Opera and Opera Santa Barbara. 

An avid proponent of the music of living and contemporary composers, Mr. Balzun won critical acclaim for his portrayal of the titular Joseph de Rocher in the South Florida premiere of Jake Heggie's Dead Man Walking with Miami Music Festival. On the concert stage, he has championed rarely-performed works such as George Rochberg's String Quartet No. 7, Peter Maxwell Davies's virtuosic Eight Songs for a Mad King, Kurt Erickson’s Here, Bullet and numerous performances of Robert Denham's Sutter Creek. Mr. Balzun is the founding curator of Black Dog Commission, a new commissioning series for art song repertoire which openly discusses life with mental illness, as inspired by his own journey with depression. More at www.joelbalzun.com.