Bass-Baritone Edmund Milly is sought after for his “annunciatory power” (New York Times), “perfect diction” (Los Angeles Times), and distinctive “delicacy and personal warmth” (Boston Classical Review). This season brings his solo debuts with the Baltimore Symphony (in Stravinsky’s Renard) and the Lancaster Symphony (in Handel’s Messiah). Other recent solo engagements include Britten’s War Requiem with the Yale Symphony, Haydn’s Creation with the Washington Bach Consort, Mozart’s Mass in C Minor at the Oregon Bach Festival, and world premieres by Benedict Sheehan and Luna Pearl Woolf.
Edmund’s education began with cello lessons at age 3 and continued at the American Boychoir School, where he became steeped in the concert repertoire while singing under conductors such as Seiji Ozawa, Kurt Masur, Sir John Eliot Gardiner, and André Previn. Edmund holds degrees from McGill University and the Yale Institute of Sacred Music, where he studied with James Taylor. In his Lincoln Center solo debut with Yale Schola Cantorum led by Masaaki Suzuki, Edmund portrayed an "authoritative and confident" Jesus in Bach's St. John Passion (Seen and Heard International). He has since sung the role at Trinity Wall Street and the Oregon Bach Festival, and performed over 100 of Bach’s cantatas. Edmund made his Bachfest Leipzig debut in 2024, and cherishes his work with many of the organizations committed to bringing Bach’s music to life, including the Bach Choir of Bethlehem, Bach Akademie Charlotte, and Cantata Collective.
A veteran of the U.S. Army Band “Pershing’s Own,” Edmund has been a soloist at the White House, the Pentagon, and the U.S. Supreme Court. His recorded work includes solo credits on the BBC and CBC, and appearances on several GRAMMY-nominated albums. Edmund often has the good fortune to sing with his wife, mezzo-soprano Sylvia Leith, notably in their work with the Polyphonists, a vocal quartet they co-founded.