Dr. Christopher MacRae is a Canadian tenor, recognized for his "beautiful and sonorous" voice, with performances spanning opera stages and concert halls across Canada and the United States.
He currently serves as Assistant Professor of Voice and Stage Director of the Opera Ensemble at the Crane School of Music at SUNY Potsdam. Prior to his appointment at SUNY Potsdam, Dr. MacRae served on the faculties of the University of Arkansas - where he was a three-time recipient of the Outstanding Mentor Award - and the University of Regina.
Dr. MacRae earned his Doctor of Musical Arts in Vocal Performance from Boston University, studying under Dr. Lynn Eustis. He holds a Master of Music and a Licentiate Diploma in Vocal Performance from McGill University, and a Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance from the University of Calgary. He has participated in masterclasses with renowned artists including Richard Miller, Francisco Araiza, Ben Heppner, Wesley Balk, Stuart Hamilton, Carrie-Ann Matheson, and Craig Terry.
His operatic repertoire include varied roles such as Sir Philip in Owen Wingrave, the Male Chorus in The Rape of Lucretia, Arturo in Lucia di Lammermoor, McAlpine in Filumena (Estacio), Bacchus in Ariadne auf Naxos, Almaviva in Il barbiere di Siviglia, Alfred in Die Fledermaus, the Tenor in Six Characters in Search of an Author (Weisgall), Sheldon in Later the Same Evening, the Governor & Vanderdendur in Candide, Pirelli in Sweeney Todd, and Vaclav in the North American premiere of The Cunning Peasant (Dvořák), along with concert performances of Werther, Nabucco, and Lohengrin.
As a concert soloist and recitalist, Dr. MacRae has been featured in works such as Orff's Carmina Burana, Beethoven's Symphony No. 9, Mozart's Requiem and Mass in C Minor, Verdi's Requiem, Handel's Messiah and Theodora, Dubois' Seven Last Words of Christ, Stainer's The Crucifixion, Warren's The Harp Weaver, MacMillan's Celtic Mass of the Sea, Carissimi's Historia di Giona, Britten's St. Nicolas Cantata, Elgar's The Kingdom, Bach's Magnificat, and Rachmaninoff's Vespers.
Dr. MacRae has also trained in acting and theatre with Keith Johnstone, Paula Homer, and Sharon Daniels, and has taken courses at Boston's Improv Asylum and the Wesley Balk Opera/Music Theater Institute in Minneapolis. He has directed and produced opera productions at the University of Regina and the University of Arkansas and served as an assistant director with Opera McGill and Toronto's Summer Opera Lyric Theatre.
Dr. MacRae is a member of the National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS) and former president of the Arkansas NATS Chapter. He has presented lecture-recitals at the Congress of the Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences (Calgary), the International Symposium on Singing and Song (St. John's), and the NATS Southern Region Conference. He is a sought-after masterclass clinician and adjudicator across North America
He was a semi-finalist in the 2005 Montreal International Music Competition, where he was named Audience Favorite Performer of the Day. He has also appeared as an Opera Quiz panelist on CBC's Saturday Afternoon at the Opera with Stuart Hamilton.