Nicholas Phan
Artistic Director
“One of the world’s most remarkable singers”
The Boston Globe
Described by The Boston Globe as “one of the world’s most remarkable singers,” Grammy Award–winning tenor Nicholas Phan is widely recognized as an artist of distinction. With a remarkably diverse repertoire spanning nearly five centuries, he performs regularly with the world’s leading orchestras and opera companies. A dedicated recitalist and passionate champion of art song and vocal chamber music, Phan has appeared on leading recital series and chamber music stages, including Carnegie Hall, London’s Wigmore Hall, the Kennedy Center, San Francisco Performances, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, the Philadelphia Chamber Music Society, and the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. In 2010, he co-founded Art Song Chicago, an organization committed to promoting this underrepresented repertoire, where he continues to serve as Artistic Director.
A celebrated recording artist, Phan won the 2025 Grammy Award for Best Opera Recording for his recording of Kaija Saariaho’s Adriana Mater with Esa-Pekka Salonen and the San Francisco Symphony. His album, A Change Is Gonna Come, was nominated for the 2025 Grammy Award for Best Classical Solo Vocal Album. His previous albums, Stranger: Works for Tenor by Nico Muhly, Clairières, and Gods and Monsters, were nominated for the same award in 2023, 2020 and 2017. He is the first singer of Asian descent to be nominated in the history of the Best Classical Solo Vocal Album category, which has been awarded by the Recording Academy since 1959.
Sought after as a curator and programmer, in addition to his work as artistic director of Art Song Chicago, Phan is the host and creator of BACH 52, a web series examining the music of Johann Sebastian Bach. He has created programs for broadcast on WFMT and WQXR and has also served as guest curator for projects with the Philadelphia Chamber Music Society, Bravo! Vail Music Festival, San Francisco Opera Center, and San Francisco Performances, where he served as the vocal artist-in-residence from 2014-2018. Phan’s programs often examine themes of identity, highlight unfairly underrepresented voices from history, and strive to underline the relevance of music from all periods to the currents of the present day.