PLACEHOLDER
Biography
Thomas Bagwell’s work as a solo pianist, accompanist in song recital, in chamber music, and as an operatic conductor has brought him to some of the most important musical stages in the world including New York’s Carnegie Hall, London’s Wigmore Hall, Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw, Vienna’s Musikverein, etc. Among the singers he has accompanied in recital include Renee Fleming, Susan Graham, Denyce Graves, Marilyn Horne, James Morris, Roberta Peters, Andrea Rost and Frederica Von Stade. As a member of the music staffs of the Metropolitan Opera in New York, the Washington National Opera in Washington D.C., the Royal Danish Opera, among others, he has worked firsthand with some of the great opera singers and conductors of the past 20 years. Among the conductors he has collaborated with in opera include Roberto Abbado, Philippe Auguin, Paolo Carignani, Sir Andrew Davis, Placido Domingo, Christophe Eschenbach, Asher Fisch, Heinz Fricke, Michael Guettler, Lotha Koenigs, Raymond Leppard, James Levine, Renato Palumbo, Andre Previn, Sir Charles Mackerras, Eduardo Mueller, Donald Runnicles, Nello Santi, Michael Schonwandt and Alexander Vedernikov.
Thomas Bagwell’s collaborations with renowned soprano Renee Fleming include a recital at the State Department in Washington D.C. for Secretary Hillary Clinton, the preparation of her acclaimed performances and recording of Messiaen’s song cycle “Poemes pour Mi” with the New York Philharmonic (conducted by Alan Gilbert), her appearances as Blanche DuBois in Previn’s opera “A Streetcar Named Desire”, a recording of Berg and Wellesz with the Emerson String Quartet, the world premiere and Ander Hillborg’s “The Strand Settings” and the creation of Previn’s “Ten by Yeats” in collaboration with the composer.
In the field of chamber music, Mr. Bagwell has played in numerous concerts with members of the Kongelige Kapel in the Gamle Scene, the Takkeloft, and numerous other locations in Copenhagen. He was a participant at the Marlboro Music Festival and his “bejewelled playing” (New York Magazine) has been heard in recitals with violinists Midori, Scott St. John and Miranda Cuckson.
Thomas Bagwell organized and performed several concert series in New York at the Austrian Cultural Forum and in D.C. at the Austrian Embassy focusing on the songs of Schubert, Wolf, Mahler, Schoenberg and Zemlinsky. He also performed in numerous recitals and galas in New York in connection with the Marilyn Horne Foundation and the Lotte Lehmann Foundation
As as teacher of opera, art song, and chamber music, Thomas Bagwell was on the faculty of the Mannes College of Music from 1998-2018 and has also taught at Yale University. He has led masterclasses at the Santa Fe Opera, New Jersey Opera, University of Colorado at Boulder, the University of Alabama at Tuscaloossa, and for the Oregon chapter of the National Association of Teachers of Singing.
As an operatic conductor, Mr. Bagwell has led performances at the Kongelige Teater of Den Glade Enke, La Cenerentola, and West Side Story. In the U.S., he has led performances of Die Zauberfloete, La Traviata, La Boheme, Suor Angelica, Pagliacci, and the Pergolesi Stabat Mater.
Thomas Bagwell’s work as a solo pianist include a recent performance of the Beethoven 3rd Concerto with the Plenum Symphony Orchestra in Copenhagen, the American premiere of Doreen Carwithen’s Concerto for Piano and Strings in New York with the Urban Playground Chamber Orchestra, all Bach recitals, and numerous concerts featuring contemporary and 19th century Nordic composers. He received a Bachelor of Music from the Mannes College of Music where his teachers included Richard Goode, Leon Pommers (a student of the legendary Ignaz Friedman) and Stephanie Brown. He recieved a Master of Music from the Manhattan School of Music in Collaborative Piano where he studied with master accompanist Warren Jones. He has also studied extensively with Edna Golandsky, the foremost teacher of the Dorothy Taubman Technique.