BRAD HOUGHAM

Born to Tom and Marilyn Hougham in Paradise Hill, Saskatchewan, Brad Hougham grew up on the family farm in the North Bend area and graduated from Hillmond Central High School with a strong desire to pursue a career in music.

While growing up Brad had studied piano with Laureen Dimmel (nee Shirtliffe) and later with Mrs. Ina Jorstad.  At the age of 12 he began vocal studies with Alison Alexander and then went on to study with other Lloydminster singers such as Cindy Simpson, Corrine Smith and Brenda Ellison.

In 1990 Brad entered the University of Saskatchewan with a major in voice and a minor in piano.  A music performance degree program gave Brad the opportunity to perform in many musicals, operettas, and operas both at the University and with professional companies in Saskatoon - particularly the Saskatoon Opera Association, Prairie Opera, and the Shakespeare on the Saskatchewan Festival.
 

In the fall of 1996, his studies took him to New York City, where he currently lives and works.  He added degrees from The Mannes College of Music, and The City University of New York.  Among the roles he has performed, his favorites include:  Il Conte (Le Nozze di Figaro), Demetrius (A Midsummer Night’s Dream), Guglielmo (Così fan tutte), Papageno (Die Zauberflöte), Mercutio (Roméo et Juliette), and Schaunard (La Bohème).  He has sung at the Metropolitan Opera for seven seasons, and has appeared in their productions of Benvenuto Cellini, Fidelio, Götterdämmerung, Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, Moses und Aron, Oedipus Rex, Parsifal, and War and Peace.   Mr. Hougham’s career goal is to make great music with great musicians, and he has had the fortune of working with some of operas most celebrated maestri including James Levine, Valerey Gerghiev, Paul Goodwin, Jane Glover, and Richard Auldon Clarke.  He has appeared as a soloist in many notable venues (Avery Fisher Hall, Merkin Hall, and Brooklyn Academy of Music, to name a few).  He has worked with companies such as The Metropolitan Opera, The Aldeburgh Festival, Manhattan Opera Ensemble, Prairie Opera, Shakespeare on the Saskatchewan, and he has also been featured as a soloist on National Public Radio.  Mr. Hougham’s singing can be heard on two recordings Rossini in Venice, and The Soldier’s Story, with the Manhattan Chamber Orchestra, which is currently in production. 

 In addition to his busy performance schedule, Mr. Hougham is enjoying the reputation as a much sought-after vocal pedagogue and clinician.  He teaches on the voice faculty of The College of New Jersey (formerly Trenton State College) in Ewing, New Jersey, and each summer, he travels to Spoleto, Italy, where he teaches voice at the Spoleto Vocal Arts Symposium, an international institute for vocal studies and opera performance.  He has taught masterclasses and clinics in the United States, Europe and Canada.