RESUME:

John J. Pilch, Ph.D. - Lyric Tenor
1318 Black Friars Road
Catonsville, MD 21228-2710
http://www9.georgetown.edu/faculty/pilchj (click on "Music")
e-mail: pilchj@georgetown.edu
 
 
 

                                                                                                                               Il Trovatore, October 2003


Languages: Polish, French, Italian, Spanish, German; Latin, Greek, Hebrew, Aramaic. Because of my fluency in Polish, I can also learn and memorize lyrics in Czech and Russian

 

Experience:

Opera Choruses

Baltimore Opera Company (Chorus):

October, 2000:  Aida;
December 31, 2000/January 1, 2001 - The Merry Widow (Baltimore Opera a la Carte at the Baltimore Hebrew  Congregation).
November, 2001: Tosca;
February, 2003: Lady Macbeth of  Mtsensk;
October, 2003: Il Trovatore.
2007-2008 season:  Chorus stand-by
The Opera declared bankruptcy in 2009.

Washington National Opera Company (Chorus):
         Standby:  2002-2003; 2004-2005; 2006-2007.

Municipal Opera Company (Chorus) of Baltimore County -- Fall, 1999 - The Magic Flute in English.

Florentine Opera Company Chorus (Professional), Milwaukee, WI 1974-1977.

I performed in these productions: Lucia de Lamermoor (Sills; Fredericks; Ramey; Duval); Manon Lescaut (Shade; Montane; Opthof; Gasco); Tales of Hoffman (Clements; Alexander; Meredith; Crofoot); La Traviata (Galvany; Gibbs; Shadur); Der Fliegende Holländer (House; Berberian; Kness; Morley Meredith); The Crucible (Ludgin; Wolf; Russell; Harris; Voketaitis; Stamford); Un Ballo in Maschera (Cruz-Romo; Russell; Edwards; Little); Cenerentola (Petros; Ahlstedt; Reardon);  La Boheme (Craig; Harness; Kendall); Don Giovanni (Stewart; Plishka; Neblett; Taylor); Faust (Theyard; Ramey; Wells; Burchinal); Il Trovatore.
Juneautown Opera Company Chorus (Community), Milwaukee, WI 1974-1977.
I performed in Orfeo ed Euridice; La Boheme.
Music Under the Stars Chorus (Milwaukee County), Milwaukee, WI 1974-1975.
I performed in Faust; Tales of Hoffman
Member of American Guild of Musical Artists (AGMA: 12838): 1975-1978; 2000-

Other Choruses:

Baltirmore Choral Arts Society (2004 to present)

Paid tenor with the Full Chorus.

Baltimore Symphony Chorus (1992 to disbandment in June, 2002)

I sang with the Baltimore Symphony Chorus (1992-2002) which  subsidized my voice lessons (1993 -- 2000) with Mary Ruzicka of Timonium, MD., with whom I continue to study to the present.  Among her voice teachers was the late Mr. Todd Duncan, Washington, DC, who created the role of Porgy in George Gershwin's Porgy and Bess.   Tenor 1 Section Leader (2000-2002).
Concert Artists of Baltimore:
December 2, 2001: Invited to join the Concert Artists Chorus to sing in Beethoven's Ninth Symphony  as part of the Beethoven Spectacular celebrating the 15th anniversary of Concert Artists of Baltimore, Edward Polochick, Music Director. Concert at Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall.

March 28, 2003: Invited to join the CAB Chorus for the performance of Brahms Ein Deutsches Requiem at Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall.

December 19-20, 2003: (also 2005).  Invited to join the CAB Symphonic Chorale to sing The Messiah at Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall.

May, 2007: CAB Symphonic Chorale concert (American Favorites)

May, 2007: Stand-by, hired as needed.

Churches
Cathedral of Mary our Queen, Fall, 2004 to Dec. 2006:  salaried Tenor section leader.
Trinity Episcopal Church, Fall, 2000 to April, 2001: salaried Tenor.
I have substituted for salaried singers at University Baptist Church, Baltimore; St. Peter's Episcopal Church, Ellicott City; Mount Calvary Anglican Catholic Church, Baltimore; and elsewhere as requested. 1997 to the present.

Archdiocese of Milwaukee, 1975-1988 - substitute in the Archdiocesan Choir as needed.

Synagogue

      Beth Tfiloh Synagogue Men's Choir,  January, 2004 to  disbandment in June, 2005.

Soloist

Throughout my career I have occasionally sung solo in the choruses (including small parts in the Florentine Opera Chorus); also solo performances in liturgy as cantor; and soloist at weddings.
The Music Forum at the Cathedral Church of Saint Matthew, Baltimore, MD.
March 25, 2001.  In recital with Carol Lord Openhym, Soprano; Alice Rowland Berardesco, Soprano; and Tod Myers, Baritone.  I sang "Un di felice" from La Traviata with Carol, "Agony" from Into the Woods (Sondheim) with Tod Myers, and the four of us sang the quartet, "Bella figlia dell'amore" from Rigoletto (Verdi).
Recitals

February 17, 2008: "Songs to Warm A Winter Day"  -  Solo concert with Donna Hesson, Soprano, and Susan Gonzales, piano.
Charlestown Retirement Center Concert Series, Catonsville, MD. 

September 24, 2008: "Songs to Warm an Autumn Day"  (same program as above) - Solo concert with Donna Hesson, Soprano, and Susan Gonzales, piano. Roland Park Place Concert Series, Baltimore, MD. 


Organist:

Christ the King Seminary, West Chicago, IL 1959-1964

St. Francis College, Burlington, WI 1955-1959

Queen of Peace Novitiate, Lake Geneva, WI 1954-1955

St Casimir Parish, Brooklyn, NY, Summer 1952

St. Anthony of Padua Prep School, Watkins Glen, NY 1950-1954

Member of American Guild of Organists (AGO): 1952-1963
Teaching:

1959-1964 - Gregorian Chant; chorus preparation; music appreciation. Christ the King Seminary, West Chicago, IL
 

Administration:

Milwaukee County, Milwaukee, WI - placed 5Th for the Civil Service position of Cultural Activities Director, 1976. Responsibilities included directing the Music Under the Stars program, which featured an opera each summer.

EDUCATION

Marquette University, Milwaukee, WI (1969-1972)
    Ph.D. (Scripture; Dec. 22, 1972)
    Dissertation: "Paul's Usage and Understanding of apokalypsis in Galatians 1-2: A Structural Investigation."

St. Louis University, St. Louis, MO (1968-69)
    Hellenistic Greek and Biblical Hebrew

Marquette University, Milwaukee, WI (1966-1968)
    M.A. (Theology; Dec. 21, 1968)
    Thesis: "Koinonia in 1 John."

Christ the King Seminary, West Chicago, IL (1959-1964)
    Theology: Academic and Pastoral.
    Music: 8 credits

St. Francis College, Burlington, WI (1955-59)
    B.A. summa cum laude (Philosophy; June 24, 1959)
    Thesis: "The Unicity of God According to John Duns Scotus."
    Music: 8 credits

Present position:

Adjunct Professor, Theology Department, Georgetown University, Washington, DC (part-time)
Visiting Professor, Studium Biblicum Franciscanum, Hong Kong, SAR,  China