Lauded by Indiana Public Media for his “Powerful, resonant, and clear baritone,” Ian Murrell is a native of Vandalia, Illinois and currently resides in Chicago. An up-and-coming singer, Mr. Murrell has been quickly garnering attention having performed with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Indianapolis Opera, Opera for the Young, The Chautauqua Opera, The Florentine Opera, Asheville Lyric Opera and The Aspen Music Festival. Ian has portrayed several operatic roles such as Sharpless in Madama Butterfly, Belcore in The Elixir of Love, Enrico in Lucia di Lammermoor, Harry Bailey in It’s A Wonderful Life, Ned Keene in Peter Grimes, Papageno in Die Zauberflöte, the Marquis de la Force in Dialogues des Carmelites, Count Gil in Il segreto di Susanna, and Bob in The Old Maid and the Thief. He has been previously seen with the Evansville Philharmonic Orchestra as Riff in their concert rendition of Bernstein’s West Side Story, Captain of the Guard in Rossini’s Barber of Seville, as well as Yamadori in Madama Butterfly.  
     In addition to his work on the stage, Mr. Murrell is rising performer of oratorio, having performed as the Bass Soloist in Handel’s Messiah with the Greenville Choral Union, baritone soloist in Camille Saint-Saëns Christmas Oratorio with the Chicago Temple Choir, Britten’s Cantata Misericordium with the Indiana University Singers, and Stravinsky’s Pulcinella Suite. This summer, Ian will singing with the Chicago Symphony Chorus in a concert setting of Verdi’s Un ballo in maschera. Ian  will be presenting a recital entitled “American Treasures” consisting of works by Florence Price, Charles Ives, H.T. Burleigh, Stephen Sondheim, Gene Scheer, and Lena McLin. In late July, Ian will make his role debut as Escamillo in Bizet’s Carmen with MIOpera. He is a graduate of Indiana University Jacobs School of Music and the University of Evansville.