Nicholas Kilkenny is an up-and- coming bass-baritone located in the Western New York area. He holds degrees in vocal performance and literature from the Eastman School of Music and music education from Buffalo State College. Recent engagements include Lino in John Musto’s Bastianello with Rochester Lyric Opera, Bartolo in Le nozze di Figaro with Eastman Opera Theater, Dr. Mynter in Nickel City Opera’s premiere of Vehar’s Shot!, and Frank in Die Fledermaus with Geneva Light Opera.
Being a versatile performer, Nicholas has performed in operas around the northeast region of the United States. His roles include Guglielmo in Così fan tutte and Méphistophélès in Faust with Buffalo Opera Unlimited, Dulcamara in L’elisir d’amore with Houghton Lyric Theater, Sacristan in Tosca, Notary in Don Pasquale and King Balthazar and the Page in Amahl and the Night Visitors with Nickel City Opera, Betto in Gianni Schicchi, Antonio in Le nozze di Figaro, Basilio and Fiorello in Il barbiere di Siviglia, and Foreman in Trial by Jury with Hubbard Hall Opera Theater, as well as Bartolo in Le nozze di Figaro, Elviro in Serse, Second Commissioner in Dialogues of the Carmelites, and Olsen in Street Scene with Eastman Opera Theater. In May 2014, Nicholas made his Carnegie Hall debut singing the role of Jewel Scrooby in Howard Hanson’s Merry Mount with the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra.
As a concert soloist, he has performed with the Eastman Wind Ensemble, Orchard Park Chorale, Buffalo Philharmonic Chorus, First Presbyterian Church of East Aurora, Eastman Chorale, and Buffalo State Philharmonia. His concert repertoire includes Handel’s Messiah, Mendelssohn’s Elijah, Bach’s Magnificat, Christmas Oratorio, and St. Matthew Passion, the Mozart, Fauré, and Brahms Requiems, Schubert’s Mass in G and Stabat Mater, Haydn’s Paukenmesse, Scarlatti’s Il primo omicidio, and Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms. He has also performed recitals in Western New York, Long Island, and Cheshire, United Kingdom.
Nicholas is also a dedicated teacher of voice and guitar. He works as a lecturer of voice at Nazareth University, as well as a teaching assistant at Eastman where his responsibilities include teaching primary and secondary voice. In 2014, he was awarded the William McIver Award for Excellence in Teaching from Eastman. He also teaches voice and guitar at Dori’s Music Studio in Spencerport, NY. Nicholas is currently a doctoral candidate at the Eastman School of Music where he studied voice with Dr. Robert McIver, Anthony Dean Griffey, and Jan Opalach.
School of Music Responsibilities
Education