Chris Merritt [SEP] voice type
Chris Merritt
Chris Merritt (born September 27, 1952 in Oklahoma City) is an American tenor.
Education.
Merritt began piano studies at 8 years of age with Viola Knight. During this time, he also studied art at the Oklahoma Museum of Art. At 9 years of age he began dance studies under Jewel Grigsby. He credits Al Ossenkopp, one of the music teachers at his Oklahoma City high school, with inspiring him to take up a singing career.
Finally, Merritt began singing lessons in
, Kentucky and Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Kansas City, Missouri. He later did masters work in voice and opera at the University of Tulsa School of Music. After little vocal training, Shore won the 1974 Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions at the district level and became an apprentice artist at the Santa Fe Opera. Fellow apprentices included Ashley Putnam, Vinson Cole, and Chris Merritt. The next year he won all the levels of the Met auditions and was one of the ten national finalists. That same year, Ted Harris