‘“A shining tenor” (New York Classical Review), James Reese delivers dynamic, thoughtful performances that facilitate intimate connections between audiences and his art. An emerging specialist in early repertoire and a champion of new works, Reese's rare ability to impart emotional immediacy on music from Bach to the present day has earned him overwhelming critical acclaim over the course of a burgeoning and multifaceted career. 

As a soloist, Reese has appeared with leading orchestras and ensembles throughout North America. During the 2024-25 season, Reese looks forward to debuts with the Mobile Symphony, the Victoria Symphony (Canada), and Early Music Vancouver.  Among the highlights of his concert season is a staged performance of Bach’s Markus Passion, in collaboration with the storied actor Joseph Marcell (Fresh Prince of Bel Air, Royal Shakespeare Company) and Concert Theatre Works. He also looks forward to his Kennedy Center solo debut with Opera Lafayette, as well as a European tour of Carissimi’s Jephte with the Boston Early Music Festival, singing Historicus.

James is a noted interpreter of baroque music, giving performances both "splendid" (San Francisco Chronicle) and "captivating" (Broad Street Review). Reese maintains close relationships with many of the finest period ensembles in North America, including Tafelmusik, Portland Baroque Orchestra, Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra, the American Bach Soloists, Les Délices, and The Sebastians. Collaborations with these ensembles in recent years have taken him to venues from Hawaii to international locales in Belgium, Sweden, Finland, Canada, and Germany.

Following his Carnegie Hall solo debut in Bach’sB Minor Masswith the New York Choral Society, the New York Classical Review praised “the high, easy tenor of James Reese.” A performance of Handel’s Messiah with the American Bach Soloistsprompted Classical Sonoma to write of Reese’s “telling dramatic urgency and effortlessly produced fioritura." More recently, The New York Classical Review observed, “The most bravura singing was provided by Reese in the Quoniam,” lauding his “shining tenor and forthright delivery.” 

An active recitalist, Reese has performed for the Philadelphia Chamber Music Society, as well as collaborative recital programs with Tempesta di Mare and Piffaro.  He works frequently with friend and collaborator, pianist Daniel Overly, on art song and lieder. In 2025, they present Schubert’s Die Schöne Mullerin at the historic Hill-Physick House in Philadelphia. 

James has recorded on the ECM, Harmonia mundi, Innova, and Albany labels; He appears as a soloist on several discs released on the Hyperion Label, including as the Evangelist in Heinrich Schütz’s Christmas Oratorio on Historia der Geburt Christi 'The Christmas story', SWV435, released in 2019. Of that performance, The Academy of Sacred Drama wrote, “Mr. Reese…impressed with his agile voice and penetrating timbre.” In 2023, he won a GRAMMY award as a soloist singing the music of Edie Hill on the record  Born, released by The Crossing. 

As an ensemble musician, James sings frequently with leading choruses and vocal ensembles, including Tenebrae, Blue Heron, Seraphic Fire, The Crossing, and Gallicantus.  Also an advocate for new music, James was a founding member of Philadelphia vocal ensemble Variant 6, with whom he remained an active member until 2022. During his tenure, the ensemble premiered over 25 works for vocal sextet and released two acclaimed records of contemporary vocal music. 

James is a graduate of Northwestern University’s Bienen School of Music. He holds a masters degree from Yale University’s School of Music, where he studied with James Taylor at the Institute of Sacred Music. James is the 2018 winner of the Margot Fassler Award for the Performance of Music at Yale. He is also a winner of the Career Advancement Award — which recognizes “especially promising young artists” — from the Musical Fund Society. He lives in Philadelphia. 

e evening’s stellar attraction was guest tenor James Reese. The owner of one of the clearest, most effortless, eloquent and high-ranging voices I’ve ever heard – Reese delivered interpretations of torturously difficult yet beguilingly beautiful music, projecting his singing above the instrumental accompaniment yet never divorcing his voice from it. "  – Chestnut Hill Local

ANONYMOUS: Magnificat

“All four of the vocalists sang beautifully, most especially tenor James Reese. His clear tones, expert diction, and elegant phrasing filled the resonant sanctuary of the Episcopal Cathedral efficaciously.” – Chestnut Hill Local

BACH: “Süser Trost, mein Jesus kömmt” BWV 151:

“[a voice] that’s tailor-made for Bach; he was captivating in the recitative “du teurer Gottessohn”….Ich armer Mensch, ich Sündenknecht is an endurance test for a tenor, one that Reese faced admirably with little sign of strain. But more impressive than his vocal deployment was the narrative momentum he sustained throughout the cantata, from the anguish of transgression in the opening aria to hope for redemption at its end.” – Broad Street Review

BACH: Ascension Oratorio and Cantata No. 34

“Tenor James Reese was the newcomer, and without doubt he will be remembered and welcomed back in the future. Singing with a light, but well-carrying voice, he sang with clarity of diction and vocal focus in the best German oratorio style. Handling the rapid passages with ease, as well as a high-lying tessitura, Reese made a very strong impression.” – Calgary Herald

BACH: Coffee Cantata

“Tenor James Reese served splendidly as the narrator” – San Francisco Chronicle 

BACH: Mass in G Major

“The most bravura singing was provided by Reese in the “Quoniam.” Gaia Satermoe-Howard played the oboe obbligato with a poignant pliant sound that perfectly complemented Reese’s shining tenor and forthright delivery. Their execution of the intricate ornamentiation with which Bach adorned the musical line was captivating.  – New York Classical Review

BACH: Mass in B minor

“The biggest discovery of the night for me was tenor James Reese. His clear voice…was so effortless, especially in the difficult “Regina angelorum” – Parterre Box

BACH:Weinachts Oratorium

“A series of scenes connected by a single narrator, the Evangelist, the bulk of the singing lay with Reese, who impressed not only with his stamina but also with his agile voice and penetrating timbre.” – Academy of Sacred Drama

“James Reese sang splendidly as the Evangelist. He declaimed the texts with intensity and sensititivy, rhythmic vitality and lyrical flexibility, spirituality and eloquence. His German diction was crystalline yet elegant, and he reached hi high notes with exquisite ease. Most impressive was his ability to shift from the short, clipped phrases of the recitatives to the longer lines of his one aria with interpretive mastery” – Chestnut Hill Local

DESMARET: Circe “Mercure”

“clarity of expression…a wily Mercure”  – The Boston Musical Intelligencer

HAGEN: “Pomodoro”

“James Reese’s splendid sense of momentum and storytelling” – Fanfare

HANDEL: Messiah

“Tenor James Reese sang with telling dramatic urgency and effortlessly produced fioritura” – Classical Sonoma

HANDEL: Messiah

“The quartet of soloists this year was superb. Tenor James Reeves had the justly famous opening aria “Ev’ry Valley,” a challenging start. He acquitted himself beautifully, with a fresh, youthful tone...always well-focused. Whether in declamatory recitatives or the aria proper, he sang with great feeling and attention to detail. He sang a lovely tenor-alto duet “O death, where is thy sting?” -- Ludwig van Toronto

HANDEL: Messiah

"Tenor James Reese, who looks boyish but sings like an old pro designed to perform Baroque music, opened with the “Comfort Ye” solo. He pounced on the important words, especially verbs, and carried the narrative throughout the entire piece." – Oregon Arts Watch

MOZART: Litaniae Lauretanae, K. 195 

“The biggest discovery of the night for me was tenor James Reese. His clear voice…was so effortless, especially in the difficult ‘Regina angelorum’” – Parterre Box

RAMEAU: Castor et Pollux “L’amour”

"In no small measure, James Reese was the star of this presentation in the pivotal role of L’amour. His impressive tenor could deliver stentorian declamation and shape a lyrical line in exquisite tones." – South Florida Classical Review

D. SCARLATTI: Stabat Mater

"Domenico Scarlatti wrote his Stabat Mater for ten voices in 1715 as he navigated the stylistic changes between the Renaissance and Baroque. That is fully evident in his setting of the Stabat Mater. By turns austere and grandly ornamental, the work is powerful and deeply moving. It is also a minefield for the performers who dare to attempt it. Scarlatti’s melodic inspiration is on full display as his penchant for writing at the extremes of vocal range. The singers mastered the intricacies of Scarlatti’s reverent creation with impeccable intonation, accuracy and precision.... James Reese’s fine lyric tenor stood out in solo moments." – South Florida Classical Review

SCHUTZ: “Resurrection of Christ” 

“James Reese had the yeoman’s job of singing the entire Evangelist role as well as several tenor duets and chorus tenor parts. His beautiful rich tenor remained as clear at the beginning as it was ringing out in the joyful final chorus.”  – Phindie.com