Daren Small is a distinguished bass-baritone soloist in the American Northwest. He enjoys sharing his passion for singing both on stage as well as in the classroom and voice studio. Small earned his Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Vocal Performance at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (CCM). Based in his hometown of Billings, Montana, Dr. Small is currently Assistant Professor of Voice at Montana State University Billings. Throughout his entire career and even now, he actively searches for new audiences in order to share his clear and rich-timbred voice. 

 

Dr. Small made his soloist debut at Montana State University during their 2006 performance of Mozart’s Requiem. Since then, he has performed as a soloist in many venues. His most recent operatic appearances include: Die Zauberflöte, Turandot, Aïda, The Crucible, Rigoletto, Tosca, and La Bohème. He is continually hailed as one of the finest bass soloists ever to sing Handel’s Messiah. His recent concert appearances include performances of Handel's Messiah, Bach's Mass in B Minor and St. John Passion, Stravinsky's Les Noces, and the Fauré Requiem (2019). Small was also a winner of the District Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions for Montana and Idaho. He went on to win the 3rd place Encouragement Award at the Northwest MONC Finals.

 

While earning his Bachelor of Music Education and his Master of Education degrees from Montana State University, Dr. Small developed his passion for performance and teaching. He is an active member of the American Choral Directors’ Association, NAfME, NATS, and the VoiceCare Network. He has also served as the Chorus Master for the Rimrock Opera in Billings, Montana. Many reputable soloists and educators have and continue to influence his career including Tom Baresel, Dennis Rupp, Robert Aaron Taylor, Lowell Hickman, Dr. Jon Harney, Dr. Kirk Aamot, and Dr. Steven Hart.