ALPHONSO "AJ" BLAKENEY-LEWIS
Lyric Tenor
About AJ Blakeney-Lewis
Alphonso Blakeney-Lewis began studying voice at Suitland High School Center of the Visual and Performing Arts. His voice instructors included Stradivari Baynard and Joseph Richter. In 2010, he began studying at Bowie State University under Dr. Brian G. Semos, earning a Bachelor of Arts in Music with a concentration in vocal performance.
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Throughout his career, Blakeney-Lewis has appeared in lyric tenor roles such as Don Curzio in Le nozze di Figaro, Tenor in The Four Note Opera, Young Simba in The Lion King, Prince Topher in Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella, Enoch Snow in Carousel, and a featured tenor soloist in the jukebox musical revue, From Ella and Friends.
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Additionally, he has been an active recitalist and concert artist throughout the Washington, DC Metropolitan Area. Some of his accolades include singing Handel’s Messiah, Vivaldi’s Gloria in D, Bach’s Mass in G, Thompson’s The Peaceable Kingdom, Mendelssohn’s As the Hart Pants, and Morten’s Lux Aeterna. Also, he lent his voice to many memorial services, including the Trayvon Martin Memorial Concert at the African-American Civil War Memorial.
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As a popular recording artist, Blakeney has been nominated for three Wammie Awards. His recordings include the lo-fi album Falling Blue, holiday release A Classical Christmas, inspirational/pop album Journey From Boy to Man, and his recent crossover Live in Maryland.
Education: Bachelor of Arts in Music/Vocal Performance, Bowie State University
Certificate of Completion, Opera, Harvard University
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Voice: Stradivari Baynard, Joseph Richter, Dr. Brian Semos
Acting: Renee Charlow, Elliot Moffit
Piano: Levar Betts
Conductors: Dr. Marymal L. Holmes, Joyce Garrett, Ian Frasier, Stanley Thurston, Everett P. Williams.
Sings in native English, Spanish, Italian, German, French, and Filipino