Johnathan McCullough is a GRAMMY®-nominated baritone, director, and educator whose career spans performances with opera houses in North America and Europe, including Opera Philadelphia, English National Opera, Komische Oper Berlin, Opéra de Lausanne, Wolf Trap Opera, Lyric Opera of Kansas City, and Pittsburgh Opera among others. As a director, his work has been recognized by The New York Times as “a pacesetter for cinematic opera.”
As a guest speaker, McCullough draws on his experience as a performer, director, and mentor to deliver clear, practical lectures on auditioning, performing under pressure, career development, and the realities of the music industry. His sessions focus on concrete strategies and best practices, giving artists tools they can put into action the very same day.
He has been invited to speak at institutions including The Curtis Institute of Music, Yale University, UCLA, YoungArts, Opéra de Montréal Young Artist Program, Lyric Opera of Kansas City Young Artist Program, Wolf Trap Opera, LaGuardia High School for the Arts, and Pacific Opera Victoria.
Most singers walk into auditions trying to be liked.
The singers who get remembered walk in knowing exactly what they’re there to communicate.
Baritone and director Johnathan McCullough reframes the audition not as an evaluation, but as a performance opportunity. Drawing on years of experience on both sides of the table, this session breaks down how casting panels actually listen, decide, and remember singers, and how small shifts in mindset, preparation, and presentation can dramatically change outcomes.
In this hour long lecture, young artists learn a clear, repeatable audition framework they can use for schools, companies, competitions, and summer programs. They will also gain practical tools for preparation that reduce anxiety and increase confidence, and a sharper understanding of how to stand out without trying to impress.
Auditions aren’t about proving you belong.
They’re about showing who you already are.
Navigating the music industry can seem overwhelming at first, but it doesn’t need to be. In this lecture, Johnathan breaks down how to build the career you want using your unique artistic voice. He provides step by step guidance on how to conceive and bring creative projects to fruition and navigate the behind the scenes aspects of the music industry.
When the COVID-19 Pandemic hit, Johnathan shifted focus on how to keep creating art in a way that would engage new audiences and serve a social purpose. He pitched the idea for a new production of David T. Little’s Soldier Songs to Opera Philadelphia which would focus on increasing awareness of how PTSD manifests itself through the eyes of one particular veteran. The project that started as a stick figure drawing on a sticky note made it to the front page of the New York Times Arts Section along with features in The Wall Street Journal, The New Yorker, The Philadelphia Inquirer, Opera News, and Opera Wire among others. The film also landed the team GRAMMY® and International Opera Awards nominations and led to Johnathan becoming a member of the Recording Academy.