Born in Pune, India, Dillon Parmer immigrated to Toronto Canada where he was brought up in the rich musical traditions of the Anglican Church. Under the guidance of Charlie Peaker and John Tuttle at Saint Paul’s Anglican Church (Toronto), he received a thorough grounding in diction and musicianship and was introduced to a vast repertoire extending from Palestrina to Britten, a foundation that undoubtedly accounts for his exceptional versatility in various musical styles and his careful command of language and declamation.

He received his formal education at the University of Western Ontario (London, Ontario) and the Eastman School of Music (Rochester, New York). His vocal training was consolidated under the direction of Lorraine Nubar (Julliard School and the New England Conservatory) and Cynthia Sanner. He coaches regularly with Jean Desmarais (Canadian Opera Company), Curt Pajer (New York City Opera), and Pierre Valet (The Met). From his home base of Ottawa (Canada) he has built a diversified portfolio of over 40 oratorio and over 30 operatic roles from the Baroque to the modern eras, with specialties in the lyric repertoire of the Classical and Romantic eras and a keen interest in the avant garde. Under the direction of such specialists as Wayne Riddell, Paul O'Dette, Eric Milnes, and Hervé Niquet, Mr. Parmer has grown into a sensitive interpreter of early music whether French, German, Italian, or English. But his thorough musical training makes him an equally solid interpreter of modern music, willing to support contemporary composers in their efforts to premiere new music to fruition.

In oratorio and concert work, his style of declamation is especially engaging when he performs such featured roles such as the Evangelist in Bach’s Saint John Passion or the titular role in Britten’s Saint Nicolas. His command of ensemble work made him a particularly valued anchor in the Tim Koch Singers, an American vocal ensemble that has commissioned new music for Piccolo Spoleto in the past and has recorded under the commercial labels of Albany Records and Naxos. His dramatic training was undertaken in the Young Artist Program at Opera Lyra Ottawa. With Jeanette Aster directing, he understudied the roles of Goro and Faust in main stage productions of Puccini’s Madama Butterfly and Gounod’s Faust at the National Arts Centre (Ottawa, Canada). His facility for stage work was consolidated in the same program under the direction of Janet Irwin in the roles of Tamino in Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte and Prince Olaf in Weisenseln’s Gisela in the Bathtub. He is, as a result, equally adept at both drama and comedy alike, whether as the flamboyant Blue Beard in OffenBach’s Barbe Bleue or as the anguished Chevalier de la Force in Poulenc’s Dialogues des Carmelites. Mr. Parmer’s work under the direction of Dalton Baldwin (Westminster College, Princeton) makes him at home on the recital stage whether in the German Lied or the French mélodie.

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