Manuel Castillo is a lyric tenor from Guadalajara, México. His most recent performances include Rodolfo in La Bohème with La Musica Lirica in Italy; Roméo in Roméo et Juliette and Rodolfo in La Bohème with UK Opera Theatre; Alfred in Die Fledermaus with Operafestival di Roma and The Messenger in Aida with Opera Tampa in the fond farewell performance of acclaimed conductor Anton Coppola. Most recently Sherrill Milnes extended him an invitation to his VOICExperience program in NYC'13, he also attended the previous year in NYC and Savannah, GA. Manuel has been featured as a soloist with Lexington Singers, Lexington Bach Choir and UK Symphony Orchestra, Lexington Philarmonic Orchestra and Johnson City Orchestra in Tennessee, as well as solo recitals in various venues in the US and México. Among the teachers that have influenced his musical carreer are: Dr. Harlan Snow, Dr. Ricky Little, Dr. Everett McCorvey and Cynthia Lawrence. He has sung in masterclasses with Sherrill Milnes, Diana Soviero, Grace Bumbry, Donnie Ray Albert, George Shirley and Clifton Ware. Mr. Castillo has studied instrumental conducting with recognized conductors in Mexico and USA like Jose Guadalupe Flores, Pedro Bocotán Antal, Leonardo Gasparini and John Nardolillo. In 2003 he created the first master class for instrumental conductors in Guadalajara lead by Leonardo Gasparini, and in August of that year Manuel was an active conductor during the VIII Annual International Conducting Class in Buenos Aires, Argentina. On September 2007 he was assistant conductor for the production of Puccini’s La Bohème from Torre del Lago, Italy, performed in Chihuahua, Mexico. Mr. Castillo has received numerous awards by diverse organizations like ¡VIVA La Música! Martha Dietrich Scholarship from The University of Texas at Austin, Morehead State University Foundation Scholarship, named Morehead State University Senior of the Year 2007 and finalist of the Alltech Vocal Scholarship Competition 2007. As finalist of Alltech, Mr. Castillo was selected by Alltech's president Dr. Pearse Lyons and UKOT's director Dr. Everett McCorvey to form part of the team that established the Haitian Harmony Project in 2010. This program develops the musical skills in Haitian children to preserve the musical history of Haiti. Manuel holds a Bachelor in Music from MSU and Masters in Music from the University of Kentucky where he is in the Doctoral program under the guidance of Cynthia Lawrence. Mr. Castillo is Adjunct Voice Teacher at the University of Pikeville. |
