Tyler Duncan

With a voice described as “honey-coloured and warm, yet robust and commanding” (The Globe and Mail), baritone Tyler Duncan has performed worldwide to great acclaim in both opera and concert repertoire. Throughout his varied career, he has performed with several leading orchestras including the New York Philharmonic, San Francisco Symphony, Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Minnesota Orchestra, and the Kansas City Symphony.

Tyler’s 2025/26 season begins with his Amarillo Opera debut as the Count in Le nozze di Figaro and a return to the Brooklyn Art Song Society for Die schöne Müllerin with pianist Erika Switzer. Additional performances include Mozart’s Requiem with the Victoria Symphony, Handel’s Messiah with Vancouver Symphony, Haydn’s The Creation with the Avanti Singers, Bach’s Mass in B minor with the Grand Philharmonic Choir, and Bach’s Christmas Oratorio with the Washington Bach Consort.

Mr. Duncan recently performed the role of Count Almaviva in Pacific Opera Victoria's production of The Marriage of Figaro, C.P.E. Bach’s Magnificat with the Handel and Haydn Society, Beethoven’s 9th Symphony with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, Bach’s St. John and St. Matthew Passions with the Oregon Bach Festival and Haydn’s Creation Mass with Music of the Baroque. Other notable engagements include Handel’s Messiah with Houston Symphony, New Jersey Symphony and Symphony Nova Scotia; Handel’s Theodora with Trinity Wall St at Caramoor; Handel's Apollo e Dafne and Bach’s Ich habe genug with Arizona Early Music’s Tucson Baroque Music Festival; Brahms’ Requiem with Johnstown Symphony; and concerts with Bard Music Festival, Brooklyn Art Song Society and Aspect Chamber Music. 

Duncan has performed numerous roles at The Metropolitan Opera including Fiorello in Il barbiere di Siviglia, Moralès in Carmen, Prince Yamadori in Madama Butterfly, and the Journalist in Lulu. At the Spoleto Festival USA, he debuted as Mr. Friendly in the 18th-century ballad opera Flora, returning the next season as Sprecher in Die Zauberflöte. Other appearances have included Raymondo in Handel’s Almira with Boston Early Music Festival, Dandini in La Cenerentola with Pacific Opera Victoria and Demetrius in A Midsummer Night’s Dream at the Princeton Festival. In the realm of new opera, he performed the role of Raymond in Nic Gotham’s Nigredo Hotel with City Opera Vancouver and sang the world premiere of Jonathan Berger’s Leonardo at the 92stY in NYC.

Tyler is a distinguished concert artist, with credits that include Stravinsky’s Canticum Sacrum with the San Francisco Symphony, Messiah with the New York Philharmonic, Mahler’s 8th Symphony and Beethoven’s 9th Symphony with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Bach’s Weihnachtsoratorium with the Minnesota Orchestra, and Schubert Lieder at Wigmore Hall with pianist Graham Johnson. He has also performed with Les Violons du Roy, Calgary Philharmonic, Quebec Symphony, Vancouver Symphony, and Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra, and appeared at major festivals such as the Händel Festival in Halle, Verbier Festival, Bard Festival, Oregon Bach Festival, and New York’s Mostly Mozart Festival.

Frequently paired with pianist Erika Switzer, Mr. Duncan has given acclaimed recitals in New York, Boston, Chicago, Paris, and throughout Canada, Germany, Sweden, France, and South Africa. Together they have premiered many new works written for them by composers.  Alongside their debut album English Songs à la française for Bridge Records, they have released A Left Coast on the same label featuring songs from Canada's west coast.

Notable recordings include the Juno Award winning Vaughan-Williams Serenade to Music with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Earthquakes and Islands: an album of songs by Andrew Staniland with texts by Robin Richardson, the title role in John Blow’s Venus and Adonis with Boston Early Music Festival, J.S. Bach’s St. John Passion with the Portland Baroque Orchestra, and is featured with the Montreal Symphony in a video recording of Handel’s Messiah.

Mr. Duncan has received prizes from the Naumburg, London’s Wigmore Hall, and Munich’s ARD competitions, and won the Joy in Singing competition, the New York Oratorio Society’s Lyndon Woodside Oratorio-Solo Competition, the Prix International Pro Musicis Award, and the Bernard Diamant Prize from the Canada Council for the Arts. Mr. Duncan earned music degrees from the University of British Columbia, Hochschule für Musik (Augsburg), and Hochschule für Musik und Theater (Munich). As a current faculty member for the Vocal Arts Program at Bard College, he finds joy in helping the next generation of singers find their true voice. Originally from British Columbia, Canada, Mr. Duncan now resides in the scenic Hudson Valley of New York.