Operatic tenor, Nathan Granner is recognized throughout the world as a generative, solo and collaborative artist. He is also one of the Sony/BMG Masterworks artists, The American Tenors.
Granner is a uniquely gifted artist. On one hand, with leading roles such as Ferrando in Cosi Fan Tutte, Tamino in Magic Flute and Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly, Granner is every bit the Operatic Tenor. His voice is of that rare breed of tenors - heroic, vulnerable, refined and unpretentious. Yet beyond this, Granner’s intense exploration of his voice has taken him from pop to authentic Flamenco to classic Turkish and has even led him further to study throat singing with a Tibetan Monk. For some, this may seem a bit exotic, but for the artist, it is basic that one must travel a thousand miles to take one step.
Growing up in Kansas City, Nathan Granner attended Kansas State University, Johnson County Community College and finally University of Missouri Kansas City Conservatory of Music, graduating with a vocal performance degree and lots of credits. His professional career began at Utah Festival Opera singing chorus through singing premiere, lead and title roles at Wolf Trap Opera, Opera Theater St. Louis, Lyric Opera of Kansas City and Pittsburgh Opera Center. He made Semi-Finals of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, sang with the National Symphony Orchestra, Handel and Haydn Society and the Baltimore Symphony.
The American Tenors debut eponymous CD and concert DVD, released on the Sony- BMG Masterworks label (under the watchful eye of then label-head now general director of Metropolitan Opera, Peter Gelb) were hits for PBS during their 2003 and 2004 festival seasons and reached the top five on the Billboard Classical Crossover charts.
"The (three) American Tenors delivered a vibrant, fast-paced show that showcased their excellent voices…two standing ovations" SHERLI LEONARD; THE PRESS-ENTERPRISE; MONDAY, MARCH 8, 2004
On his own, Nathan has received critical acclaim from The Boston Globe, The London Times, The New York Times, Opera News, Washington Post, and USA Today from his appearances with the National Symphony Orchestra, Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Irish Radio Orchestra, the Tulsa Philharmonic, Opera Theatre Saint Louis, Lyric Opera of Kansas City, Wolf Trap Opera, Opera Tampa, and Tulsa Opera. He was the featured soloist with the Kansas City Symphony for Maestro Michael Stern’s debut performance as Music Director, furthermore appearing as tenor soloist in The Messiah with the quintessential Handel/Haydn Oratorio Society under the baton of Maestro Grant Llewellyn.
Throughout his career, Granner has developed long-lasting friendships and partnerships. He continues to work wirh guitarist - Beau Bledsoe, having released two classical albums as well as having toured the world with him. Granner has collaborated many times with Brad Cox premiering a number of Cox’s original compositions. He has also worked extensively with award winning dancer/choreographer Jennifer Owen, with Civic Artist, Barnaby Evans' WaterFire - performing and helping coordinate their first large scale performance on the Country Club Plaza.
With his successful singing career, Nathan saw an opportunity to develop outside the realm of a performing artist. Citing Placido Domingo and James Brown as his idols (truly) in the music business world, he set out to learn the ropes in the administration world. He became the Artistic Director of Musical Theater Heritage (a small theater and media organization) For two years Nathan developed performances that fit within MTH's complex multi-tiered mission, namely, as an internationally syndicated radio production and as a theatrical producer.
His next endeavor was to start The Super Group, LLC, an entertainment development company whose mission is to develop artistic ideas and translate them into organizations that work both as art and as business.
This line of work has empowered Nathan and his colleagues to pursue many of their generative ideas turning them into something that can sustain their rent and mortgages as well as sustaining their souls.
The recent and tragic crisis in the print media industry led Nathan and his friend Marcy Chiasson to open up KCMETROPOLIS.org, Kansas City's online journal of the Performing Arts. Utilizing new technology and the new paradigm in the publishing sector, KCMETROPOLIS.org, a 501(c)(3) organization, publishes weekly columns, reviews and previews covering Classical, New Classical (New Deco), Dance, Theatre, Independent Film and Jazz. Nathan serves on the board of KCM.
Mr. Granner keeps a rigorous national performance schedule and acts as a facilitator for KC Artist, INC, a series of in-depth entrepreneurial seminars that will reach more than 100 artists over the next two years.
