Frank Ward

Title: Associate Professor
Dept/Program: Music - Voice
Phone: 330-972-6036
Email: fw13@uakron.edu

Biography

Dr Frank Ward, Jr. (bass-baritone) is a versatile performer in recitals, opera and oratorios. Ward is a sought-after performer who has appeared in recent productions of The Barber of Seville, The Marriage of Figaro, Candide and The Magic Flute. Wrote one critic, “Bass-baritone Frank Ward was superb in the comic role of the drunken servant Gelone. His incisive phrasing, full tone and pointed diction made his scenes amusing.” Ward made his European debut singing the role of Don Bartolo in Rossini’s The Barber of Seville in Rome, Italy with Opera Estate. Recently, Ward has been singing multiple performances in the role of Ned in Scott Joplin’s opera Treemonisha with the Paragon Ragtime Orchestra.

A Native of Richmond, Virginia, Ward holds degrees from Morehouse College and The University of Michigan. Critics have praised Ward’s “careful attention to diction,” and his ‘great vocal agility and treatment of ornamentation.” Critics have also reveled in how his stage presence “…married showmanship with vocal technique to a great advantage.” Of one performance, Pulitzer Prize winning poet W.D. Snodgrass wrote, “Frank Ward truly knows how to present a song.”