COUNTERTENOR
I sing like a girl and that’s awesome.
Stellar
Chicago Tribune
Countertenor Thomas Alaan and soprano Henriet Fourie imbued “He Shall Feed His Flock” with lullaby gentleness.
Chicago on the Aisle
But pop-star affectations are just a gloss on a seriously accomplished artist… To everything Aláan sings, he brings an uncanny richness and power...
Newcity: Street Smart Chicago
Countertenor Thomas Aláan has a powerful voice and is extraordinary as the petulant and cruel Nerone.
Isthmus
Nerone (Nero) was Thomas Aláan... His voice is incredibly powerful, and he was able to color it both menacing and seductive... There was a stretch of several minutes where it seemed that… Aláan and Engstrom were oblivious that anything existed other than their singing. The union of instruments and voices, the whole throbbing with drama, is quite simply the kind of experience that is the goal of opera, for both composer and audience.
What Greg Says
Nero was sung by countertenor Thomas Aláan who has a voice of great agility and expressiveness... the farewell duet between Nero and Poppea... was highly charged vocally and erotic in its beauty and delivery.
The Well-Tempered Ear
And what fun it is! Warhol may not have been an asexual countertenor in real life, but it makes shocking good sense to Thomas Aláan as a creepy, clingy Warhol/Oberon.
Isthmus
Indeed, Thomas Aláan, in the role of Oberon, was a very convincing Warhol in look and gesture. More importantly, the young man who owned the part of Nero in last season’s “Poppea” displayed an even wider range of vocal gifts than heard a year ago. There was more opportunity for Aláan to display his lower range, and the idea of being Warhol offered perhaps a bit more latitude in expression than if it had been a strictly traditional staging.
What Greg Says
Simply stole the show with his unearthly round tone and singular power
Communities Digital News
Artful and moving... rendered with dynamic precision
Communities Digital News
Soaring sound... simmering singing... heartfelt
Hyde Park Herald
Traced ornate melodies... with excellent timing and intonation.
The Elgin Review
Incredible diction... significant and clean upper register. Oh that’s funny.
The Post-Journal
Owner of a glorious countertenor voice.
Herald Times
Reviews
Bio
Short Bio
Thomas has sung a lot and done some cool things. He plans to continue singing and doing cool things until he decides he’s finished. Then he will stop. He also likes cats. 😻
Regular Bio
Critically acclaimed stellar [Chicago Tribune] countertenor Thomas Aláan has been a featured soloist on radio shows, album recordings, concert series, and festivals across the United States. He has performed with groups including Alchymy Viols, Ars Antigua, Bella Voce Camerata, Bach Cantata Vespers, Charlottesville Early Music Access Project, Credo, Elgin Master Elgin Symphony Orchestra and Chorale, Helios Ensemble, Northwest Indiana Symphony Orchestra, Mountainside Baroque, Musikanten Montana, and Schola Antiqua. Festival appearances include the Boston Early Music Festival Fringe Series, the Bach and Beyond Baroque Early Music Festival, the Baroque on Beaver Island Festival, the Wicker Park Music Festival, the Bloomington Early Music Festival, and the Ear Taxi Festival.
In media, he’s been heard on WGN Radio (Up Late with Patti Vasquez, Nocturnal Journal), WNPR (The Midday), WFMT (The Midnight Special, Midday), and Chicago Irish Radio; has interviewed with Early Music America, Huffington Post, and 98.7 WFMT; and can be heard regularly on podcasts such as Best Nerds Studio and The BBE Live, the latter featured through Early Music America’s Wellness Series. His recordings include Vivaldi’s solo cantata Stabat mater dolorosa for Biretta Books; Haydn’s Requiem and Vivaldi’s Gloria with the Elgin Master Chorale and Symphony Orchestra; Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms and Orff’s Carmina Burana with the Northwest Indiana Symphony Orchestra; and An Appalachian Summer, A Gaelic Summer Carols, and Chicago Stories: The Album with the Bach and Beethoven Experience (BBE). He has premiered several new works written for countertenor, including Eric Malmquist’s Two Assyrian Songs, A Portrait of Lam Ho, and A Valediction; Amos Gillespie’s Three Songs; Mark Nowakowski’s O Dulcis Electe, Chesterton’s Carol, and Mizerna Cicha; Kurt Westerberg’s Three Orphic Hymns; Lucas Tuazon’s In service to; Heidi Joosten’s Edwin in the Lowlands Low; and Tomás Gueglio’s Blue Heron.
From 2009-2024, Thomas established himself as a well-known figure in Chicago’s musical and sustainability communities. He served as co-director of the Bach and Beethoven Experience (BBE), a chamber music ensemble known within the early music and folk communities for its innovative commissions for period instruments and fun folk/Baroque crossover concerts. As co-director of the groundbreaking OperaWorks™ singer training program, he led the program out of a multi-year hiatus into its post-pandemic relaunch. With Kirsten Hedegaard, he also co-founded The EcoVoice Project, a non-profit focused on climate change advocacy and education through music. At Holy Name Cathedral, he was Associate Conductor of Choirs and Director of the Women’s Schola for fifteen seasons while moonlighting as an occasional “liturgical saxophonist” during services. He was a climate change educator at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) where he ran the internationally acclaimed Summer Institute on Climate and the Environment for 12 years (2011-2023) and taught courses such as Music as a Tool for Environmentalism and Change and The Music and Science Connection in the UIC Honors College. His expertise has led him to lead talks and panel discussions through Loyola University’s Climate Change Conference, the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education, the UIC Summer Institute on Sustainability and Energy, the Helena Music Teachers Association, Chicago’s The People's Music School, and the national Self Employment in the Arts (SEA) Art Business Entrepreneurship Workshop.
In the summer of 2024, Thomas relocated to Seattle. His home studio — Voice Lessons in Seattle — is growing with a vibrant group of singers of all backgrounds and genre interests from classical and musical theater to death metal. His work with people has expanded to the newly launched The Performer’s Gym which focuses on performing artist injury prevention, rehabilitation, and strength and functional movement skill development. He also travels across the country leading STEM workshops for university students and early career post-docs which develop science communication skills through operatic performance techniques. Conferences and universities where he’s given such workshops include the Next Generation Electrochemistry conference, the Communication Science Conference - Atlanta, the University of Colorado Boulder, and the University of Illinois Chicago (2024). In September, he joins St. John the Baptist Episcopal Church to rebuild the choral program as the new choir director.
Thomas received his Doctor of Musical Arts (DMA) in Performance from the University of Wisconsin - Madison where he was a Paul Collins Wisconsin Distinguished Graduate Fellow studying with Jim Doing. His research interests include the performance practice and ornamentation of Sean-nòs singers and the use of music in sociopolitical and environmental movements. He received his Master of Arts in Vocal Pedagogy at Texas Woman’s University with renowned author and pedagogue, Joan Wall, and his Bachelor of Arts in Music Education (voice and saxophone) from Alderson-Broaddus University. Additional teacher-mentors include Sheri Greenawald, Mark Crayton, Ellen Hargis, Elizabeth Parker, Max von Egmond, Ann Baltz, David Brock, Beverly Hoch, Linda Poetschke, and Lewis Hall. He is a certified personal trainer and nutrition coach through the National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM-CPT/CNC) with specializations in sports performance, corrective exercise, and behavioral change, with additional certification through the Performing Arts Medicine Association (PAMA).
When not engaged in any of the above activities, he can be found cooking or feeding his cat, Theobold 😻, shuffling, or playing World of Warcraft.
Long Bio
You don’t want to read it. He doesn’t want to write it. Let’s save ourselves time. 😹
For twenty years, Thomas has worked with singers from all backgrounds and skill levels to discover new ways to express themselves through the power of song.
For actors, musicians, dancers, visual artists, or anyone looking for injury prevention, rehabilitation, functional training, strength and physique coaching, or diet and wellness support.