William Brown

Who is William Brown?

William Brown was an African-American operatic tenor.

Brown earned a Bachelor of Music degree from Jackson State University in 1960 and a Masters of Music degree from the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University in 1962. He later earned a doctorate of music from the Peabody Institute in 1971. From 1962 to 1966, he was a soloist with the United States Navy Band and Choir, with whom he performed for Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson.

In 1967, he made his professional opera debut as Spalanzani in The Tales of Hoffmann with the Baltimore Opera Company. That same year, replacing an ailing Plácido Domingo, he made his New York City debut as Kalaf in Ferruccio Busoni's Turandot with the The Little Orchestra Society at Avery Fisher Hall. He also starred as the Angel in the world premiere of John La Montaine's pageant opera The Sheparde's Playe, which was recorded for television and broadcast nationally in the United States on ABC.