Baritone Joshua R. Wentz is in high demand as a singer, director, choral clinician, and conductor of opera, oratorio and musical theater worldwide. Dr. Wentz has had the privilege of singing for two decades throughout the United States and abroad in over a dozen countries. He has worked with Cleveland Opera, Florida Grand Opera, Opera Carolina, Dayton Opera (Ohio), Harrower Opera, Festival Internaccional d’Opera Americas, Rome Festival Opera, Darmstadt Festspiel, and various other venues around the world.
In addition to opera, Wentz has sung many oratorio and musical theater roles at various levels throughout the U.S. He has spent the past decade conducting oratorios, requiems, masses, and other major works with large-scale choruses and orchestras. As a musicologist, Wentz’s published research on American Opera, and in particular, Carlisle Floyd, has become a leading source on Floyd’s works of the 1960s. “Dr. J” is an Associate Professor of Music at Los Angeles Mission College, where he oversees the choral and vocal areas. He also serves on the voice faculty at CSU Northridge and manages his own private voice studio.
Dr. Wentz is the founder of Mission Opera, an OPERA America Professional Member company in Los Angeles County, where he serves as its Artistic & Executive Director. In 2021, Wentz earned a Commendation from the County of Los Angeles for his work in promoting and advancing Music Education in LA. Additionally, the 2020 digital performance of The Medium earned Wentz and Mission Opera their first Telly Award. In 2023, Mission Opera won the First Place in the American Prize in Opera Digital Performance, as well as a Bronze Anthem Award.
Wentz holds a DMA from the University of South Carolina, where his published research on American Opera has become a leading source in the United States today. Wentz also holds a Masters of Music from Winthrop University and a Masters of Science in College Student Affairs from Nova Southeastern University, where he specialized in Conflict Analysis and Resolution.
Dr. Wentz is often featured in choral festivals, voice competitions, and conferences around the world. He is also the Director of Music at Santa Clarita United Methodist Church. In 2021, Wentz was a quarterfinalist for the Grammy Music Educator of the Year Award, and was nominated again in 2022 as a Legacy Candidate, where he also advanced to the quarterfinalist category. He lives in Castaic, California with his partner Brandon and Husky, Vulcan.
