John Harger Stewart (born March 31, 1940 in Cleveland) is an American tenor, conductor, and voice teacher who had an active international singing career in concerts and operas from 1964 to 1990. He began his career singing regularly with the Santa Fe Opera from the mid-1960s through the early 1970s; after which he appeared only periodically in Santa Fe up through the mid-1980s. He was particularly active with the New York City Opera during the 1970s and 1980s, and with the Frankfurt Opera from the mid-1970s through 1990. He also appeared as a guest artist with several other important American opera companies, including the Metropolitan Opera and the Washington National Opera, and at other European opera houses like the De Nederlandse Opera in Amsterdam, the Deutsche Oper Berlin, the Grand Théâtre de Genève in Switzerland, and the Wexford Festival Opera in Ireland. Now retired from singing, he is currently the Director of Vocal Activities at Washington University in St. Louis where he also teaches singing and conducts student opera productions and choirs. He also serves as the opera conductor at the Johanna Meier Opera Theater Institute at Black Hills State University. Early life and education Born in Cleveland, Ohio, Stewart began studying the piano, violin, and viola as a child. For five years he was a soloist with what is now called the American Boychoir. He then attended Western Reserve Academy where he developed a strong interest in music theory and composition. He entered Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut where he earned a Bachelor of Music degree in music composition. At Yale he studied composition with Mel Powell and voice with Blake Stern. He also was a leading member of the Spizzwinks and Whiffenpoofs, served as assistant director of the Yale Glee Club, and played string bass in both the Yale Concert Band and in a jazz octet. Stewart was also a tenor in and occasional conductor of the Yale Russian Chorus—an association which continued on and off for decades after his undergraduate years. Following his graduation from Yale, Stewart pursued graduate studies in music at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island. While a student at Brown, he made his professional concert debut in 1964 as the tenor soloist in Felix Mendelssohn's Elijah with the Nashua Symphony in Nashua, New Hampshire. After earning a Master of Music degree from Brown in 1964, he spent a year doing post graduate