Meet the Student: Q&A with Tenor Jackson Allen

Tenor Jackson Allen, from Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, entered the Curtis Institute of Music in 2023 and studies voice with Jack Li Vigni. All students at Curtis receive merit-based, full-tuition scholarships, and Mr. Allen is the Edwin B. Garrigues Fellow.

See Mr. Allen in Curtis Opera Theatre’s upcoming production of George Frideric Handel’s stunning theatrical oratorio L’Allegro, il Penseroso ed il Moderato (The Cheerful Man, the Thoughtful Man, and the Moderate Man), November 10 and 12 at the Philadelphia Film Center.

What inspired you to pursue a career in opera and classical music?
My earliest exposure to opera was actually in an online kid’s game from TVO (Ontario’s public broadcaster) that I loved playing when I was five or six. It would give you a little synopsis of each opera, and then you had to match the musical snippet to the opera character. It’s funny to think about now, but maybe it did have some subliminal impact on me!

I took piano lessons starting around seven, but I wasn’t really serious about music until high school. At that point, I began actually practicing and listening to classical music, and that’s when I started to come across clips of Pavarotti, Björling, Vickers, and all these great tenors and decided to try singing lessons. Everything pretty much snowballed from there. Looking back, I still count Jon Vickers as one of the artists who inspires me most, not just because he’s a fellow Canadian tenor but because of his unique combination of sensitivity and intensity. I’m really thankful to have had such supportive parents and a great music education in my hometown of Sault Ste. Marie.

How did you hear about Curtis, and what excites you the most about continuing your vocal studies here?
I first heard about Curtis because two of my biggest mentors, Rhoslyn Jones (Opera ’06) and Jonathan Beyer (Opera ’07), are alumni. It sounded almost mythical to me at first—the tiny admission rate, the caliber of the faculty and students, not to mention tuition-free! After my first couple of months here, I still feel like Curtis is a magical place, and I’m so thrilled to have the opportunity to study here. I’ve already grown so much thus far working with Miloš Repický and my teacher, Jack Li Vigni. The ‘learn by doing’ environment has been amazing, and I’ve been lucky enough to perform a lot this year in all kinds of music: Handel, Mozart, Strauss, and Britten this semester alone. I’m also looking forward to The Cunning Little Vixen next May since Janáček is one of my all-time favorite composers!

Photos of Jackson Allen by Nichole MCH Photography.