Baker Artist Portfolios

“Exciting is an apt description of this talented vocalist. Michael Manganiello… shook the floor with their powerful low notes.” Praised for their enviable resonance, crystalline diction, and stylistic prowess, vocalist Michael Manganiello focuses their solo and ensemble work on breaking down and analysing established preconceptions of identity and artistic expression. “They may be placed in the baritone bin, but they’re far more. That’s the issue with fachs - Michael defies them.” (OperaWire, 2023)

Michael is currently a doctoral candidate at the Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University, where they study Vocal Performance with Bill Sharp. In addition to their coursework, they also maintain a studio of vocal students, and work as a Peer Career Coach and Student Engagement Intern at Peabody’s LAUNCHPad, working collaboratively with students and alumni to reach their professional and artistic goals. Michael graduated from Peabody in 2021 with a Master’s degree in Vocal Performance and Pedagogy, and from SUNY Fredonia in 2012, where they earned concurrent Bachelor's degrees cum laude in Vocal Performance and Dance, with a minor in Visual Art/New Media.

Michael founded, conducted, and sang with the QED Vocal Ensemble in residence at Westminster Presbyterian Church, Buffalo, NY. The mission of QED is to explore the unique timbre of the solo-voice ensemble, and energise audiences through diverse programming. They are inspired by the seemingly infinite acoustic possibilities of the human voice. They believe that true virtuosic performance is firmly rooted in scholarship.

QED is an abbreviation for the Latin phrase “quod erat demonstrandum” meaning “that which was to be demonstrated,” typically found at the end of a mathematical or ethical proof. Their performances are demonstrative of the power of word and music, the beauty of artistic communication, and how the synergy of scholarship and art can create meaningful and memorable experiences for audiences.

Michael has appeared as an ensemblist and soloist with the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, Baltimore Choral Arts Society, Peabody Renaissance Ensemble, NEXT Ensemble, Camerata di Sant' Antonio, Opera Sacra, Buffalo Chamber Players, Western New York Chamber Orchestra, Women of Vivaldi, Vocális Chamber Choir, Buffalo Master Chorale, and Harmonia Chamber Singers. Michael is a member of the National Association of Teachers of Singing, and the Somatic Voicework™ Teachers Association, and was a participant in the 2015 Baroque Opera Workshop through the Institute for 17th Century Music at Queens College, the 2019 Tafelmusik Baroque Summer Institute, the 2019 ARTEK Madrigal Madness workshop, and the 2021 Transgender Voices workshop series through Opera Programs Berlin.