Dashon Burton

Hailed as an artist “alight with the spirit of the music” (Boston Globe), three-time GRAMMY Award-winning bass-baritone Dashon Burton has built a vibrant career with regular appearances across the United States and Europe.

His 2025/2026 season highlights include Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 and Don Fernando in Fidelio with the Cleveland Orchestra led by Franz Welser-Möst. He also sings Mahler’s Songs of a Wayfarer and Mozart’s Requiem with the New Jersey Symphony under the direction of Xian Zhang, and Bach’s Mass in B Minor with the San Antonio Symphony led by Jeffrey Kahane. Additional engagements include Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with the Grand Rapids Symphony and Marcelo Lehninger, Britten’s War Requiem with the Erie Philharmonic and Daniel Meyer, Handel’s Messiah at Augustana College, Bach Cantatas with the Bach Choir of Bethlehem, and a recital at The Phillips Collection in Washington, D.C.

Recent highlights include Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with the Los Angeles Philharmonic and Gustavo Dudamel at the Hollywood Bowl;  Brahms/Glanert’s Serious Songs and Mozart’s Requiem with the St. Louis Symphony under Stéphane Denève, Mozart’s Requiem with the Minnesota Orchestra and Thomas Søndergård; and a role as Artist-in-Residence with the Milwaukee Symphony, which included Mahler’s Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen and Bach’s Ich habe genug, both conducted by Ken-David Masur. He has collaborated regularly with  Michael Tilson Thomas , singing including performances of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with the San Francisco Symphony and Copland’s Old American Songs, and MTT’s own  Walt Whitman Songs  with the Boston and San Francisco Symphony orchestras. Highly regarded as a Baroque specialist, his performances of Handel’s Messiah have included the National Symphony,the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra and the Philadelphia Orchestra.

A multiple award-winning singer, Burton won a GRAMMY in 2021 for Best Classical Solo Vocal Album with Dame Ethyl Smyth’s The Prison with The Experiential Orchestra (Chandos). As a founding member of the groundbreaking vocal ensemble Roomful of Teeth, he received his first GRAMMY in 2013 for their debut recording of new commissions, and his third in 2024 for Rough Magic, featuring works by Caroline Shaw, William Brittelle, Peter Shin, and Eve Beglarian.

His discography also includes Songs of Struggle & Redemption: We Shall Overcome (Acis), Paul Moravec’s Sanctuary Road (Naxos), Lori Laitman’s Holocaust 1944 (Acis), and Caroline Shaw’s The Listeners with Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra. His album of spirituals was praised by The New York Times as “profoundly moving…a beautiful and lovable disc.”

Burton holds a Bachelor of Music degree from Oberlin College and Conservatory and a Master of Music degree from Yale University’s Institute of Sacred Music. He is currently Assistant Professor of Voice at Vanderbilt University’s Blair School of Music.