Kevin Deas has gained international acclaim as one of America’s leading basses. He is especially celebrated for his riveting portrayal of the title role in Porgy and Bess which he performed with New York Philharmonic, National Symphony, the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, Philadelphia Orchestra, San Francisco, Atlanta, San Diego, Utah, Houston, Baltimore and Montreal Symphonies, and at the Ravinia and Saratoga Festivals. In the 2006/07 season, he appears in a variety of roles with the New York Philharmonic, Opera Boston, Houston Symphony, Detroit Symphony, the Washington Chorus, Baldwin-Wallace Bach Festival, The Collegiate Chorale (NY), and Staatskapelle Weimar.

Highlights of Mr. Deas’ recent appearances include Copland’s Old American Songs with Chicago Symphony, Porgy and Bess with Winnipeg and Pacific Symphonies, Handel’s Agrippina with Boston Baroque, Bach Magnificat and St. John Passion with Baldwin-Wallace Music Festival, Beethoven Symphony No. 9 with Virginia Symphony, Verdi Requiem with Huntsville Symphony, Duke Ellington’s Sacred Music with Winter Park Bach Festival, and Messiah with Buffalo Philharmonic, National Philharmonic, and Musica Sacra (Carnegie Hall). He has also recently performed Mozart’s Marriage of Figaro with the Chicago Symphony, Dave Brubeck’s To Hope! in Salzburg and Vienna, Brubeck’s The Gates of Justice at the Brubeck Festival 2004, and also that year opened the Newport Jazz Festival with the Dave Brubeck Quartet. He has been collaborating with Dave Brubeck for 20 years. Mr. Deas has recently recorded for several labels including Die Meistersinger with the Chicago Symphony under the baton of the late Sir Georg Solti, and Varese’s Ecutorial with the ASKO Ensemble, both on Decca/London. Other releases include Bach’s B Minor Mass and Handel’s Acis & Galatea on Vox Classics, and Dave Brubeck’s To Hope! With the Cathedral Choral Society on the Telarc label.

For his commitment to the music of Dave Brubeck, Kevin Deas is the recipient of the 2006 Brubeck Institute Award for Distinguished Achievement.

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