Josh Shaw

Josh Shaw

Tenor

Josh Shaw began studying voice in 1997 as a Music Education Major at the University of Montana studying with Stephen Kalm.  The following year he transfered to Ouachita Baptist University in Arkadelphia, Arkansas were he spent four years earning a B.M. in Vocal Performance.  While at Ouachita, he studied first with Dr. Steven Gardner and later with Charles Turley.  As a young lyric baritone he performed roles including Horace Tabor in The Ballad of Baby Doe, Count Almaviva in Le Nozze di Figaro, Pish-Tush in The Mikado, and Rapunzel's Prince in Sondheim's Into the Woods.  Upon completing his undergraduate studies, Mr. Shaw accepted a position at Wildwood Park for the Performing Arts in Little Rock, Arkansas as a Young Artist singing the role of the Giant in a tour of Jon Davies' Jack and the Beanstalk, as well as Pish-Tush in The Mikado, and the King of the Trolls in The Two Fiddlers.

In 2002, as a tenor, Josh began his Master's Program in Opera/Music Theatre at Southern Illinois University under the direction of Metropolitan bass Richard Best.  While at SIU, he performed in a wide variety of productions ranging from musical comedy to grand opera.  Roles during this period included Curly in Oklahoma!, Hugh Dorsey in Parade, Ruggeron in La Rondine, and Don Jose in Peter Brooks' The Tragedy of Carmen. 

After graduating in 2004, Josh pursued a professional career in music theatre for a year singing and dancing through productions of Cinderella, Damn Yankees, and a national tour of A Christmas Carol playing Bob Cratchit.

After settling in the Los Angeles Area in early 2005, Mr. Shaw has returned exclusively to opera.  Engagements since that time have included Rodolfo in La Boheme, Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly, Cavaradossi in Tosca, Rinuccio in Gianni Schicchi, Faust in Faust, Don Jose in Carmen, Alfredo in La Traviata, Il Duca in Rigoletto, Edgardo in Lucia di Lammermoor, Ferrando in Cosi Fan Tutte, Pedrillo in Die Entfuhrung dem Serail, and Eisenstein in Die Fledermaus.

In addition to being a Young Artist at Wildwood Park, Josh has twice been an artist at Opera in the Ozarks, first as a baritone in 2001 (Yamadori, Madama Butterfly  The Clock, L'Enfant et les Sortileges  Peruckenmacher, Ariadne auf Naxos  Cascada, The Merry Widow) and as a tenor in 2006 (Alfredo, La Traviata and Rinuccio, Gianni Schicchi).  In 2007 he returned to sing (Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly) and assistant direct the scenes program. 

Josh has won mutliple awards for both his operatic and dramatic work including:  Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions District Winner, Best Young Male Artist at Opera in the Ozarks, NATS Southern Regional Competition--1st place Senior Men Division, 1st place Junior Men Division, NATS Arkansas State Competition--1st place Music Theatre, National Society of Arts and Letters St. Louis Chapter Music Theatre Competition--3rd place, Bigfork Summer Playhouse Achievement Scholarship, Arkansas Federation of Music Clubs Scholarship. 

Mr. Shaw currently works out of Los Angeles and studies with Joann Zajac.