“‘The Song of Chicago’ proved, once again, that CAIC is no pedestrian programmer. As tenor and Artistic Director Nicholas Phan made clear during his interstitial comments, this ‘Song of Chicago’ had not just a chorus but a well-researched thesis, arguing that Chicago was uniquely nurturing to composers in the 20th century. Its conservatories educated, if not always warmly welcomed, more Black musicians than peer institutions, and during the same period, the city’s pro-labor leftist movements gave refuge to artists who might have been forced to the fringes elsewhere — like Sandburg and his alliances with composers Ruth Crawford Seeger and Ernst Bacon.”

“Two-time Grammy nominated tenor Nicholas Phan is “one of the world’s most remarkable singers” (Boston Globe), and the coming season showcases his artistry in music ranging from masterworks of the Classical and Baroque to new song cycles composed expressly for his voice. He returns to the New York Philharmonic under Jaap van Zweden for Bach’s St. Matthew Passion (March 23–25); joins Boston Baroque..”

“Tuesday night tenor Nicholas Phan delivered thoughtful and eloquent songs that reflected universal aspects of immigration, from the thrill of anticipation to the vagaries of reality…To create one of the more arresting recitals in this summer’s Aspen Music Festival lineup, Phan built his whole evening around composer Nico Muhly’s “Strangers,” a song cycle that focuses on difficulties of immigration…Muhly’s music, so touching and spare, created an apt halo of sound for Phan’s poignant singing of these letters…” – Aspen Times

“Phan’s deceptively halcyon tenor—clear and crystalline, but able, on a dime, to reflect the explosive storms of human experience—is an ideal vehicle for the emotional capaciousness that Muhly gives his texts…Phan’s tenor weaves itself into a lavender haze of unconditional love and unencumbered longing, accented by a holy minimalism in Brooklyn Rider’s accompaniment…The closing piece reminds us, as history snakes around itself, that what we are invariably left with in any era are people looking to connect.”

Commissioned by the tenor Nicholas Phan and premiered in 2019, Nico Muhly's Stranger is undoubtedly one of the most moving new vocal works to come my way this year: setting texts including extracts from letters and interviews with immigrants from China and Sicily, the song-cycle explores what Muhly has described as 'different kinds of shared American stories', …

…The three of us connected over Zoom last month to discuss the genesis and reception of Stranger, the questions around identity and immigration which lie at the heart of the piece…

“Composer and singer discuss the title-work on a new album from Avie, and consider the resonances of cultural identity explored in the new work, written for Phan

Nico Muhly’s Stranger, premiered in 2020, gives its name to a new album from Avie featuring the tenor Nicholas Phan. James Jolly caught up by video call with Nicholas Phan in San Francisco and Nico Muhly in New York to talk about the album, and how Stranger came into being.”

WQXR celebrated AAPI Heritage Month with a program of works composed and performed by artists of Asian descent. Performers included the celebrated tenor Nicholas Phan and pianist Myra Huang, who performed works on the theme of immigration and migration…Click to watch the video!

“Nicholas Phan’s eighth Avie Records album – Stranger: Works for Tenor by Nico Muhly – drops on July 1. Due for both physical and digital release, the new title comprises world premiere recordings of three of the composer’s major works: Impossible Things for tenor, solo violin and orchestra; Lorne Ys My Likinge for countertenor, tenor and piano; and Stranger for tenor and string quartet…”

CAIC's 2021 Collaborative Works Festival: Strangers in a Strange Land was highlighted twice among Chicago Classical Review's 'Best of 2021'.

The opening concert of the festival, Songs of the New World, was listed as number three on Chicago Classical Review's "Top Ten Performances of 2021" and the closing concert of the festival, The Songs We Carried, was listed amongst the review's round-up of honorable mentions.

THE NEW YORK TIMES

“…This ‘Messiah’ offered as rewarding a quartet of soloists as you are likely to hear this holiday season. The appealing tenor Nicholas Phan set the mood for the evening in the recitative ‘Comfort ye, my people,’ performed with melting sound and beguiling sincerity, and the rousing aria ‘Ev’ry valley shall be exalted.’..”

San Francisco Performances has just announced their 2022 Salon Series, which will take place in early 2022. Nick curates and performs in this season's set of salon recitals, which take place over the course of four Thursday evenings in the Education Studio at the War Memorial Veterans Building…

“…Phan proved an ideal advocate for this piece. Of course, he was aided by Wainwright’s utterly natural text settings. But the singer’s ability to evince the bittersweet essence of each song was remarkable, as was his effortless projection in the exposed, upper register moments…”.

– Boston Classical Review

“Following a return to live, in-person performances this past summer, celebrated tenor Nicholas Phan begins the 2021-22 season with both live and virtual chamber performances focusing on themes of immigration and migration. Highlighting his exploration of these themes is a tour of the United States with the string quartet Brooklyn Rider for performances of Nico Muhly’s new song cycle, Stranger, and the tenth Collaborative Works Festival of the Collaborative Arts Institute of Chicago (CAIC)…”

“…The Collaborative Arts Institute of Chicago (CAIC) — the city’s prized art-song outfit — is back with an in-person festival, and it’s managed to outdo itself yet again on the programming front…”

Despite her tragically early death at the age of 25, Vítezsláva Kaprálová left a portfolio of more than 50 works of the highest craftsmanship and inspiration. Nick appears on a new recording of her orchestral music, which was recorded at the Kaprálová Festival at the University of Michigan back in 2015.

Nick was the inaugural guest on Asian Musical Voices of America’s new online discussion series, SPEAKEASY, where he chatted with AMVA founders Hyeyung Sol Yoon and April Sun about his experiences as a bi-racial, LGBT opera singer of Asian descent.

Click to see the interview!

Watch Nick’s 2019 performance in the title role of Handel’s ‘Jephtha’ with Boston Baroque!

“In this production he sang with great beauty and tenderness; his Jephtha starts off as a noble commander and morphed into a memorable portrait of spiritual disintegration — his fatal vow and bravado end up destroying his world.”

– The Arts Fuse

This week's episode of WQXR’s Carnegie Hall Live features a 2012 recording of Bach’s St John Passion performed by the the choir La Chapelle de Quebec with Canadian ensemble Les Violons du Roy, conducted by founder Bernard Labadie.

Nick appeared on WFMT’s Listening to Singers with OIiver Camacho for an interview and a survey of some of his recordings as part of the show’s Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month programming:

Of Greek and Chinese heritage, Nicholas Phan is one of the few male Asian singers to have broken through the world of classical music as a performer and recording artist. The Grammy-nominated tenor joins Oliver to talk about identity, championing art song, and to remember countertenor Brian Asawa.

“As the year draws to a close, tenor Nicholas Phan continues to win accolades for his most recent recording, Clairières, an homage to composers Lili and Nadia Boulanger. As well as being featured on the New York Times’ list of Best Classical Music Tracks of 2020, the album has been nominated for a 2021 Grammy Award in the Best Classical Solo Vocal Album category, for which the final round of voting ends on January 4. This marks the second Grammy nomination for Phan and his regular collaborator, pianist Myra Huang, who were previously nominated in 2017 for their Romantic collection Gods & Monsters. The tenor remains the first and only Asian singer to be nominated in the history of the Best Classical Solo Vocal Album category, which has been awarded since 1959.”