The versatility of Grammy-nominated baritone Simon Barrad has been heard in genre-bending concerts across the United States and Europe. His talent for unique and innovative programming and arranging — melding new and old, jazz and drama, classical technique and heartfelt folk idioms — has led to recent features in the United States at the Art of the Piano Festival, the Ravinia Festival, Stanford Live, the Marlboro Music Festival and Opera San Jose. His upcoming performance highlights include recital debuts at Wigmore Hall in London, Camerata Musica in Cambridge and the Philadelphia Chamber Music Society. The 2015/16 Fulbright scholar to Finland has headlined several concerts across the Atlantic including performances at Helsinki’s Musiikkitalo, Finland’s National Opera House and the Berlin Philharmonie. Through his performing and as a mentor last year for ArtSmart, which provides free music and singing lessons to teenagers in underserved communities, Simon strives to build a more equitable world of empathy and understanding through music.

Simon Barrad is a native of Long Beach, California, and holds a Master of Music from the University of Cincinnati’s College-Conservatory of Music and a Bachelor of Music in Voice with a French minor from the Bob Cole Conservatory of Music at California State University, Long Beach.