Kermit
Gray was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, and studied voice at Xavier
University, New
Orleans. During his studies
he sang opera performances including such roles as Alfio in Cavalleria
Rusticana, Guglielmo in Cosi fan tutte and Porgy in a concert version of
Porgy and Bess with the New Orleans Philharmonic. He
went to Germany with the U.S. Army and sang with their 7th
Army Chorus in Heidelberg. After completing his military service he was
engaged for the musical Hair in Gelsenkirchen.He
was then enrolled at the Staatliche Hochschule für Musik in Karlsruhe, where
he studied private voice with baritone Scipio Colombo. The
Stadttheater in Lucerne(Switzerland) engaged him where he performed many
roles including Marullo in Rigoletto, the Marquis d`Obigny in La
Traviata and Pali in the Gipsy Baron. Mr. Gray was requested by
Stadttheater to sing a Liederabend with works by Ives and Gershwin, and
later participated in the International Music Festival in Lucerne, where
he sang solo in the quartet of Chichester Psalms of Leonard Bernstein. Kermit
Gray`s repertory is varied and includes such roles as the 2nd
commissioner and the 1st officer in Poulenc`s Dialogues of
the Carmalites, also a world premiere as the first man from the street
in The King for a Day. Kermit Gray now resides in Düsseldorf, Germany where he is often heard in concerts. In the musical Mahalia he performs the part of Martin Luther King in a successful production in many theaters in Germany , Austria and Switzerland. In the Berlin Philharmonic Hall he was guest baritone soloist in two different opera concerts. |