J’Nai Bridges, mezzo-soprano
Bradley Moore, piano

American mezzo-soprano J’Nai Bridges, known for her “plush-voiced mezzo-soprano” (The New York Times) and “calmly commanding stage presence” (The New Yorker), has been heralded as “a rising star” (Los Angeles Times), gracing the world’s top opera and concert stages. 

Bridges’ 2021 – 22 season is highlighted by her participation in numerous world premiere engagements, including as a guest artist at The Kennedy Center’s 50th Anniversary Season, performing in Written in Stone with Washington National Opera, followed by Adolphus Hailstork’s A Knee on the Neck with The National Philharmonic. This season, Bridges is featured in The Power to the People! Festival with the Los Angeles Philharmonic. She sings Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 for Houston Symphony’s season finale performance, and gives a solo recital at the McCarter Theatre Center in Princeton, NJ. Operatic engagements include the title role in Carmen with Palm Beach Opera, and Jocasta in Oedipus Rex with the San Francisco Symphony. 

In the midst of the worldwide pandemic, she emerged as a leading figure in classical music’s shift toward conversations of inclusion and racial justice in the performing arts. Bridges led a highly successful panel on race and inequality in opera with the Los Angeles Opera that drew international acclaim for being a “conversation of striking scope and candor” (The New York Times). In early 2021, Bridges was featured in the Converse shoe brand’s All Stars Campaign for its Breaking Down Barriers collection. In 2022, Bridges was announced as one of The Kennedy Center’s “Next 50,” where she will take on the role as cultural leader participating in conversations designed to inspire change for a more inclusive artistic landscape. 

Bridges is a recipient of several prestigious awards, including a 2022 Grammy Award in the Best Opera Recording category for Philip Glass’s Akhnaten, the 2018 Sphinx Medal of Excellence Award, a 2016 Richard Tucker Career Grant, and a 2012 Marian Anderson award. A native of Tacoma, Washington, she earned her Master’s degree from Curtis Institute of Music and her Bachelor’s degree in Vocal Performance from the Manhattan School of Music. 

To learn more about J’Nai Bridges, please visit her website. 

Bradley Moore has performed as a soloist with several orchestras, including the National Symphony Orchestra and the Buffalo Philharmonic. He performed the Martinu Harpsichord Concerto with the San Francisco Ballet for the world premiere of Mark Morris’s Beaux, and he has been a recitative accompanist and continuo player with the Met Orchestra, the Vienna Philharmonic, the Mozarteum Orchestra, and the Met Chamber Ensemble.  

Moore has performed in recital with many of the world’s great singers, including Susan Graham, Renée Fleming, Jamie Barton, Christine Goerke, Angela Meade, and Eric Cutler. His discography includes The House without a Christmas Tree (Gordon/Vavrek) and a recital of American songs with soprano Melody Moore for Pentatone, a recital with Eric Cutler on the EMI Classics Debut Series, a recital with clarinetist Julian Bliss on Signum Classics, and a recital of songs by American composer Daron Hagen on Arsis Audio. He has been Associate Music Director at the Houston Grand Opera and an assistant conductor at the Metropolitan Opera, the Salzburg Festival, Opéra National de Paris, the Canadian Opera Company, and the Los Angeles Opera.