Kerry Wilkerson, bass-baritone, has been hailed by The Washington Post as an “exuberant” performer with the “amber tone of a lyric baritone and the imposing weight demanded by Handel’s low-lying writing.” In June 2017, he made a triumphant Carnegie Hall debut as the baritone soloist in Vaughan Williams’s Sancta Civitas, garnering rave reviews. His dynamic career has taken him across the U.S. and Europe, earning acclaim for his powerful performances in operas, oratorios, and recitals.

Recent operatic highlights include Wilkerson’s portrayal of the Herald in Verdi’s Otello with the Pacific Symphony, as well as his performances as Alcindoro/Benoit in Puccini’s La Bohème with the Jacksonville Symphony and the Northern Lights Music Festival. A highly sought-after concert soloist, Wilkerson has captivated audiences in Handel’s Messiah with the National Symphony Orchestra and the La Jolla Symphony; Vaughan Williams’s Five Mystical Songs at American University; Rachmaninoff’s The Bells with the Spokane Symphony; and Kodály’s Te Deum with the Oregon Music Festival, among many others. His repertoire also includes iconic works such as Bach’s Mass in B Minor, Brahms’s Requiem, Fauré’s Requiem, Mendelssohn’s Elijah, and Mozart’s Requiem, all delivered with commanding artistry in venues across the country.

Together with his wife, soprano Danielle Talamantes, Wilkerson regularly performs in recitals, their recent collaborations taking them to the American Church in Paris, prominent venues in Virginia and North Carolina, and the Northwest Bach Festival in Spokane, Washington. In the upcoming 2024/25 season, the duo will bring their celebrated program of American music to Opera Roanoke, Willow Valley (PA), and the Sitka Music Festival (AK), while Wilkerson makes his debut with the Greensboro Symphony as the bass soloist in Mozart’s Requiem.

Wilkerson’s distinguished career includes singing with the United States Air Force Singing Sergeants, the United States Army Chorus, and the renowned Robert Shaw Festival Singers. A familiar and repected figure in the Washington, D.C., music scene, he is a frequent collaborator with esteemed ensembles such as the National Philharmonic, the City Choir of Washington, the New Dominion Chorale, and the Oratorio Society of Virginia.