Dennis McNeil

Dennis McNeil
Tenor


Multi-award winning tenor, Dennis McNeil, is a highly sought after concert artist and entertainer known for his golden voice, versatility and Irish charm. He has entertained five United States Presidents, Heads of State, Fortune 500 corporations, leading symphony orchestras, opera companies, charities, and private clubs. He has performed with varied artists such as David Foster, Michael Feinstein, John Raitt, Steve Miller, Lionel Ritchie, Sammy Cahn, Kiri Te Kanawa, Bruce Hornsby and the Grateful Dead. Having sung in every state in the U.S. and around the world, Dennis has headlined in three National Tours with both the San Francisco and the New York City Opera companies and has toured and performed internationally with famed composer and Jazz legend, Lalo Schifrin. He has sung nationally in many musical theater productions, has been featured in many television broadcasts and on a number of recordings.

Referring to past performances, “New York Newsday” said, “Dennis McNeil sang in a high sweet tenor voice, clarion in the forte passages, subtly nuanced in florid coloratura.” The “London Times” said, “Dennis McNeil had ease and warmth of voice; … gorgeously swooning and heat drunk.” “Dramalogue” said, “McNeil has a glorious tenor voice … thankfully he knows what to do with a ballad.”

Voted "2011 Best Male Cabaret Artist", Dennis has recently been nominated a second time for 2012 by Broadway World and has received top honors from such varied groups as the Met and the Grateful Dead. He was a National Winner of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions and as a leading tenor at the New York City Opera, was awarded the Richard F. Gold Career Award for his portrayal as Mark in their New York Stage Premiere of Michael Tippet’s “A Midsummer Marriage”. He also holds first place awards from the Southern California Opera Guild and the Victor Fuchs Memorial Competition, was a recipient of the Emily Baratelli Memorial Award from the New York Opera Index and has received top awards from the Sullivan Foundation and the Grateful Dead's Rex Foundation.

In addition to performing a special concert with former Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice, Dennis has personally entertained eight Supreme Court Justices, six Secretaries of State, former President of Mexico, Vicente Fox, and many other dignitaries around the world. He has sung at the Lincoln Center, the Kennedy Center, the U.S. Supreme Court and was a featured performer at the Kennedy Space Center Memorial Service for lost Space Shuttle, Columbia. He also entertained 10,000 guests at three inaugural dinners for the 2001 President Bush inauguration.

As a recording artist, Dennis' latest CD, “Center Stage”, is a compilation of Broadway favorites. This, along with “Requests”, “It’s Christmas”, “Celtic Fire”, “Ave Maria”, “Forever Irish” and “The Spirit of Christmas” are available through his website www.dennismcneil.com and other popular download sites such as iTunes. He is currently working on a new recording to be released in early 2013.

Dennis has entertained major companies such as AT&T, Kemper Insurance, New York Life Insurance, NASA, Northwestern Life, AON, Pacific Life and the Hearst Corporation. He has sung the National Anthem for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Lakers, Clippers and Kings and the San Francisco Giants, among many other teams and events, earning him the title "Star Spangled Tenor".

Equally happy on the Broadway stage, the opera stage, in front of a symphony or singing Irish Folk Music or Cabaret, Dennis has performed with many of the major opera companies in the U.S. including the Met, New York City Opera, San Francisco Opera, New Orleans Opera, and Los Angeles Opera, as well as the Komische Oper in Berlin, Germany. On the Musical Theater stage he has sung the role of Mr. Snow in Carousel more than 140 times in four productions. He sang the lead role of Nikos to Broadway legend, John Raitt’s Zorba. He also sang in a national tour with lyricist, Sammy Cahn in the smash hit musical Words and Music!. In opera, he sang the role of Don Jose in Carmen more than seventy times. Other roles to his credit include, Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly, Tamino in the Magic Flute, Rudolfo in La Boheme and Alfredo in La Traviata. He has been featured on the Hour of Power and the KTLA Morning News in Los Angeles as well as other broadcasts. He has gained international recognition as one of the world’s top interpreters of Irish music. Dennis has even performed for 14,000 fans at Irvine Meadows Amphitheater with Bruce Hornsby and members of the Grateful Dead at the Further Festival.

Born and raised in Los Angeles, CA graduating from Loyola High School, Mr. McNeil received degrees in Economics and Music from U.C. Davis. It was at Davis that he found music, joining the University Chorus on a dare in 1980. In addition to the chorus he sang in a rock band, playing guitar and harmonica; ran the UC Davis Vocal Jazz Ensemble, promoted rock concerts such as the Grateful Dead, Beach Boys, and Santana, performed recitals, and conducted a full concert with chorus and orchestra for his Senior Project. Upon graduation in 1983, McNeil spent the year of 1984 working for Los Angeles Olympic Organizing Committee. He served first as Production Coordinator then Rehearsal Production Supervisor for the Opening and Closing Ceremonies. He put together 300 break-dancers, the 1000-voice Olympic Honor Choir, and was in charge of the rehearsals of up to 4500 performers at one time. He worked with Peter Ueberroth, Tommy Walker, David Wolper, Etta James, and Lionel Ritchie.

Returning to his performing career, McNeil studied at the Institute for the American Musical at the Los Angeles Music Center and attended the Merola Opera Program of the San Francisco Opera. He made his Los Angeles Opera debut in 1988 as Ferrando in Cosi Fan Tutte, San Francisco Opera in 1990 as Eisenstein in Die Fledermaus, and New York City Opera in 1992 as Don Jose in Carmen.

In the community, Dennis serves on an advisory board for "America Wants You," an initiative to help veterans find employment and has been an active member of the Manhattan Beach 10K Run Committee for many years. He also served on the Board of Directors of the UC Davis Cal Aggie Alumni Association for 6 years, and for many years served on an advisory Committee for the Blind Children’s Center in Los Angeles.

A fourth-generation Californian, he resides close to the beach in Southern California and loves ocean swimming, biking and running and competes in triathlons in his "spare" time. He and his wife, Cindy, have 3 daughters, Tessa, Julia, and Maura