A consummate, versatile, and inspirational artist, communicatively fluid in multiple genres, Barrington Coleman has performed and recorded as a tenor soloist with such esteemed organizations as the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Chorus, Music of the Baroque Ensemble, Royal Opera House of Covent Garden, La Fenice (Venice, Italy), Glyndebourne Opera, London Philharmonic and Symphony Orchestras, and the Sunday Evening Club of WTTW-TV in Chicago. He has collaborated with such prominent composers as Coleridge Taylor Perkinson, Doug McConnell, and Richard Hundley on various premier and standard works for voice, as well as performing as a jazz pianist with many prominent jazz artists,including Christian McBride, Lonnie Plaxico, Sam Rivers, in addition to Coleman’s own jazz trio.
Having served as an assistant professor of voice at his Alma Mater, Illinois Wesleyan University,and a guest artist/choral conductor at the location of his Masters degree studies, Northwestern University, Dr. Coleman has served as an assistant instructor in the study of Aural Skills at the locale of his doctoral studies,the Juilliard School of Music,,and an Associate Professor of Voice and conductor of the Varsity Men’s Glee Club since 1996 at the University of Illinois (Urbana, USA).
In 1990, Barrington and his wife, internationally acclaimed lyric soprano and fellow UI vocal professor, Cynthia Haymon performed in the world premier of Richard Blackford’s musical, King, as well as featured artists on the EMI label recording and film of Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess.
A frequent guest artist,pedagogue,choral conductor/arranger, and astute clinician, Barrington has served in numerous capacities over the years with such American national organizations as the Illinois Music Educator’s Association, All-State Choral conferences, American Association of Choral Conductors, New York Choral Conductor’s Association, the International Association of Jazz Educators, and the Black Sacred Music Symposium held on the campus of University of Illinois throughout his tenure as professor.
As a guest conductor, he has also collaborated with numerous choral ensembles in England, Wales, and Austria. In addition to directing and performing, Dr. Coleman was one of the developers of the Marquee artist Immersion Lecture Series which is a significant educational and artistic component for attending audiences and some of the world’s prolific guest artists at the Krannert Center for the Performing Arts on the UI campus in central Illinois. Along with experiences in commercial television work in the U.S., Barrington has served as an adjudicator for arts programs of universities, high schools, community arts organizations, churches, and an array of professional music associations in America as a classical, jazz, and gospel artist.