Baritone Zachary Coates is a lecturer in music in voice, teaching applied voice and graduate courses in Song Literature. He received a Bachelor of Music degree from Westminster Choir College and both Master and Doctor of Music degrees from Indiana University, where he was a student of Andreas Poulimenos. A fervent interpreter of song, Dr. Coates has given recitals across the United States and internationally. His academic interests include the Kunstballaden of Carl Loewe, the intersection of poetry, music, and the visual arts in France at the turn of the 20th century, and the wide range of diverse and powerful voices crafting art song in America in the last few decades and today. His culminating doctoral project, A Practical Handbook for Teaching Undergraduate Song Literature, is a guide to assist Song Literature teachers in adapting core undergraduate curriculum into a format that will fit their unique perspectives and institutional requirements.

Although he specializes in song, Coates’ vocal studies have included Stanislavski Technique, and he has performed with opera companies across the country including Michigan Opera Theater, Opera Philadelphia, Spoleto Festival USA, and Opera North. He has also been involved with the groundbreaking and inclusive work of Opera MODO, both on stage and behind the scenes. Roles have included Don Giovanni (Don Giovanni), Count Almaviva (Le Nozze di Figaro), Guglielmo and Don Alphonso (Così fan tutte), Sid (Albert Herring), Balstrode (Peter Grimes), Sergeant Sulpice (La ille du regiment), and Dulcamara (L’elisir d’amore). His concert performances include oratorios with the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra and the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra.

During his graduate studies at Indiana University, Dr. Coates was a recipient of the Georgina Joshi International Fellowship, which allowed him to spend three months in England and Germany on a self-constructed intensive program of lessons and coachings, including an extended period of lessons with Sir Thomas Allen. Coates was also honored to work with legendary song coach and pianist Dalton Baldwin on several occasions before his passing.