Biography - Aaron Sheehan, Tenor

Grammy Award winning tenor, Aaron Sheehan, recognized internationally as a leading interpreter of baroque repertoire, is equally at home on the concert platform and the opera stage, from medieval monody to twentieth century masterworks.  

Aaron Sheehan made his professional operatic debut with the Boston Early Music Festival in the 2005 world premiere staging of Mattheson’s Boris Gudenow, winning praise from Opera News for his “sinuous and supple” voice, and went on to further roles with BEMF in Lully’s Psyché, Charpentier’s Actéon, Monteverdi’s Orfeo, Il ritorno d’Ulisse in patria, and L’incoronazione di Poppea, Steffani’s Orlando, Desmarest’s Circé, and Handel’s Acis and Galatea.

Sheehan appears on over 35 recordings, which include Handel’s “Acis & Galatea” with Boston Early Music Festival, Rameau’s “Le Temple de la Gloire” & Handel’s “Saul" with Philharmonia Baroque, and Monteverdi’s “Il ritorno d’Ulisse in Patria” with Boston Baroque. He sang the title role in BEMF’s recording of Charpentier’s La Descente d’Orphée aux Enfers, which won Best Opera Recording at the 2015 Grammy Awards. 

Aaron’s worldwide operatic and concert appearances include venues as diverse as the Royal Opera at Versailles, Tanglewood Festival, New Zealand Festival of the Arts, Lincoln Center, Concertgebouw, Kennedy Center, Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, Gran Teatro Nacional del Perú, Beethoven Festival Warsaw, Boston Symphony Hall, Musikfestspiele Postdam’s Sanssouci, Handel Halle Festival, and the early music festivals of Boston, San Francisco, and Vancouver.

Recent performances include Handel’s Messiah with the National Symphony, Bach’s St. Matthew Passion with the Armenian Philharmonic, Winterreise in recital at the Smithsonian Museum, Bach’s B minor Mass with American Bach Soloists. Solo performances with Handel & Haydn Society and Boston Baroque. The first Bach St. Matthew Passion in Peru with the National Symphony Orchestra of Peru. Featured performances and recordings with Pacific Music Works, Blue Heron Choir, Bach Collegium San Diego, and Paul Hillier’s Theater of Voices. 

Raised in Minnesota, Aaron received his bachelor’s degree in Vocal Performance from Luther College and a master’s degree in historical vocal performance from Indiana University. He currently is on the voice faculty of Boston University.