Tucker, Eric

Biography

Dr. Eric Hoy Tucker, basso-cantante, is the son of second-generation coal miners from Fairmont, W.Va. His musical mentors are Janice Harsanyi, André Thomas, and John Wustman. Dr. Tucker has appeared as bass soloist with regional symphony orchestras across the country in works such as Bach’s Christmas Oratorio and St. John Passion, Fauré’s Requiem, Handel’s Messiah, Haydn’s Creation, Saint-Saëns’ Christmas Oratorio, Beethoven’s Mass in C, Mozart’s Requiem, and Rossini’s Stabat Mater. Dr. Tucker has appeared as a soloist in Carnegie Hall on multiple occasions in the works of Haydn and Vaughan Williams. He was also featured as the bass soloist for the 2010 World Fair’s presentation of the Fauré Requiem in Shanghai, China. Tucker has twice appeared as a soloist with the International Bach Festival in Trujillo, Peru. Tucker’s operatic portrayals include the major roles of Mozart, Puccini, Britten, Gilbert & Sullivan, Friml, and Ibert.

Tucker has been teaching at the collegiate level for the past thirty years. Highly sought after as a vocal technician, he has led vocal masterclasses throughout China, Italy, and Peru. He has been repeatedly invited to the Wuhan Conservatory for masterclasses and recitals.

Tucker has taken aspiring singers to Italy for a month-long Italian language immersion and vocal technique institute for seven years and as recently as summer 2025.

The strength and depth of Tucker’s career rests not in his singing but rather, his teaching. His professional pride and joy are the successes of his students. Students from his studio have gone on to appear with opera companies throughout the country including: The Metropolitan Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, San Francisco Opera, Opera Theatre St. Louis, Michigan Opera Theatre, Pittsburgh Opera, Opera Carolina, Opera Columbus, Opera Kentucky, Virginia Opera, Sarasota Opera, Arizona Opera, Opera Grand Rapids, Opera Delaware, Merola Young Artist Program, Brevard Music Center, Pine Mountain Music Festival, and The Ohio Light Opera. His students have also been highly successful in musical theatre as they are performing leading roles in Broadway houses as well as such prestigious theatres such as the MUNY, the BBC Proms, The Engeman Theater, Ogunquit Playhouse, The Fulton, Timber Lake Playhouse, Tuacahn Amphitheatre, the Phoenix Theatre, Argyle Theatre, Pittsburgh Light Opera, The Stephen Foster Story, The Fireside Theatre, Broadway Palm Dinner Theater, Theatre Row, Rubicon Theatre, Florida Repertory Theatre, Derby Dinner Playhouse, and the Forestburgh Playhouse. Tucker’s students have performed in Broadway National tours of “Les Miserables”, “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory”, “The King and I”, “Back to the Future”, “Seussical the Musical”, and “Beauty and the Beast”.

Academically, his students have gone on to graduate programs at such prominent institutions as The Eastman School of Music, Florida State University, the University of Michigan, Westminster Choir College, The Ohio State University, The University of Illinois, Northwestern University, and the University of Iowa.

His students record for the Chandos and New York City Center Encores labels

Recent Scholarship

Dr. Tucker has appeared as bass soloist with regional symphony orchestras across the country in works such as Bach’s Christmas Oratorio and St. John Passion, Fauré’s Requiem, Handel’s Messiah, Haydn’s Creation, Saint-Saëns’ Christmas Oratorio, Beethoven’s Mass in C, Mozart’s Requiem, and Rossini’s Stabat Mater. Dr. Tucker made his Carnegie Hall debut in May 2013 as soloist in Haydn’s Creation with the New York City Chamber Orchestra. Tucker was featured as the bass soloist for the 2010 World’s Fair’s presentation of the Fauré Requiem in Shanghai, China. During the summer of 2012, Tucker was an Artist in Residence for Il Corso Estivo per Giovani Cantante Lirici, a Young Artist Apprentice program for opera in Sant’Angelo in Vado, Italy. While there, he sang performances of leading roles in Don Pasquale, Le Nozze di Figaro, L’Incoronazione di Poppea, and Il Viaggio del Reims in performances throughout Tuscany.