Joe Dan Harper

M.M., New England Conservatory of Music

Hailed for his “magnificent purity of expression” (Fanfare Magazine) and “stirring delivery” (Boston Globe), tenor Joe Dan Harper is a versatile and engaging interpreter of a wide-ranging repertoire from Schubert and Britten to a variety of contemporary composers. In addition to the premier of Kurt Rohde’s Death With Interruptions in 2015, he has premiered works by numerous composers, including Thea Musgrave, Stephen Paulus, Daniel Pinkham, Libby Larsen, Ned Rorem, Robert Deemer and Lior Navok,

A passionate interpreter of song repertoire with a noted gift for expressive and poetic diction, he has appeared with The Boston Symphony, Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, Boston Academy of Music, South Carolina Opera, Utah Festival Opera and Utah Opera, and has been heard in such venues as Boston’s Jordan Hall, Berlin’s Gorki Theater, and the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music. He was awarded a Fulbright Fellowship to Germany, has been a Fellow at the Steans Institute for Young Artists at the Ravinia Festival and the Tanglewood Music Center. He holds degrees in performance from the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston and Southern Methodist University. Recently awarded the SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Scholarship and Creative Work, Mr. Harper he has been a member of the SUNY Fredonia voice faculty since 2004.

Teaching Interests

Singing
Lyric Diction
German Lieder
Contemporary Music

Research Interests

Diction for International Students

Awards and Honors

  • SUNY Chancellor's Award for Scholarship and Creative Activity, SUNY (2021).
  • Commissioning Grant, Carnahan Jackson Humanities Fund (2016).
  • Poummit Faculty Award, SUNY Fredonia School of Music (2011).
  • NPR: Top Five American Contemporary Classical Albums of 2010, National Public Radio (2010).
  • Fellowship, Richard Wagner Verband of Heidelberg, Germany (2004).