QC native part of Lincoln Center world premiere
Western Illinois University alumnus Saul Nache is a Latinx, gay, dynamic and versatile music director, performer, teacher, composer and vocal coach based out of New York City.
Nache graduated from WIU in 2005 with a bachelor’s degree in music focusing on voice performance. He recently was featured in a world premiere in New York.
“Skyward: An Ending Elegy” played Lincoln Center on Oct. 26, 2023. Brooklyn-based composer, playwright, vocalist and La MaMa resident artist Truth Future Bachman interweaved three of the most compelling cultural threads of our time: musical theater, gender fluidity, and superhero/sci-fi parables.
Nache – a Silvis native – said recently he was asked to be part of the concert last May. “They had seen videos of my singing on Instagram and thought that I would be a great fit for their show in a role written for me and my voice,” he said in a WIU release Tuesday.
“There would be two workshops on the material throughout the summer and then culminate in a world premiere performance at The Lincoln Center. I was honored and excited to get to bring this show and this role to life,” Nache said. “The show and Truth’s trilogy of musicals have trans and queer superheroes in a multiverse setting. I played the role of ‘Scarlet Macaw’.
“In the plot, Macaw and his friends are migratory birds trying to escape the world that is on fire and along the way they meet a new rare bird who is transforming on stage as the characters talk about their experiences,” Nache said.
“His song, ‘When I Return’ speaks to the longing for home, moving around from place to place to continue living the life I have dreamed of and also how my family and ancestors continue to fly with me wherever I go,” he said. “The first time I sang through this song, I wept so hard that I couldn’t continue singing.
“It moved me in a way that I have never experienced before. More than 300 people attended the performance at the David Rubenstein Atrium of The Lincoln Center, and the response was incredible.”
Nache and the cast plans to record the entire “Skyward: An Ending Elegy,” and he was recently featured in the first mention as a performer in Playbill.
“It hasn’t been easy, lots of hard work, finding my way through a new industry, but the skills and education that I received at my alma mater continue to help me show up in all of my projects,” he said.
Opera and concert experience
Nache earned his Master of Music in Voice Performance and Literature from the University of Illinois. He has sung leading and comprimario roles with Teatro Lirico d’Europa, Red River Lyric Festival, Opera Quad Cities, and Opera Illinois. Equally at home in concert repertoire, Nache has sung with the Peoria Bach Festival, Quad City Symphony Orchestra, Danville Symphony, and the Handel Oratorio Society.
Some of his favorite roles include Schaunard in La Boheme, Guglielmo in Cos fan tutte, Yamadori in Madama Butterfly, Bobby in Weill’s Mahagonny, and Papageno in Die Zauberflte. Also, favorite concert repertoire includes the solos for Brahms’ Ein Deutsches Requiem, Faure’s Requiem, Mozart’s Requiem, Durufl’s Requiem, Mozart’s Mass in C Minor, Handel’s Messiah, Vaughan Williams’ Christmas Fantasia, and Bach’s St. John’s Passion.
In 2009, Nache received the honor of being a vocal fellow at the prestigious Tanglewood Music Center, was the district winner of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions in 2008, and won the Bravo Award at the Bel Canto Foundation Competition in 2008.
“I was lucky to be involved in music from the early age of 10,” Nache said. “I was part of the Moline Boys Choir and started piano lessons. I continued with both of those concentrations through junior high and high school, as well as adding percussion to the list of musical abilities. These experiences made it very clear that I needed to have a career in music, but I wasn’t sure where I would land.”
He recalled his music studies at WIU being the foundation of his singing, piano, artistry and development as a person.
“My amazing professors required discipline and a hard work ethic that I have been able to use through my studies in my graduate degree and into my professional development,” Nache said. “I was a music business major for two years before I made strides in my vocal development, which changed the trajectory of my path. My professors helped to keep me on track and give me performing opportunities and I’m forever grateful for their care and guidance,” Nache said.
To see the Lincoln Center premiere concert, click HERE.
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