Maloy spent his early years in Shenandoah, Iowa,
where he began singing in high school. He studied with Anna Kaskas and Sergio Nazor at Indiana University, where his first
operatic roles included Wagner's Parsifal. After two years of service in the army, he continued his operatic
studies at the University of Southern California, and spent the year 1957/58 at the Hochschule für Musik in Hamburg
on a Fulbright grant.
From there he went on to sing leading tenor
roles.
Before joining the Eastman faculty in 1966, Maloy sang more than 1,000 performances with opera companies
throughout
Germany and Switzerland, including leading tenor roles in Bremerhaven, Gelsenkirchen, Wuppertal, and Bern.
He also gave lieder song recitals over North German and Austrian radio, did concert appearances in Spain, and made
recordings in London.
In 1966, John Maloy joined the Eastman faculty, where he became professor of voice, and served as chair of the voice department
until 2001. He was also a soloist with the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra and Opera Under the Stars. While at Eastman,
Maloy trained dozens of singers who have gone on to have important American and international careers,
including Renée Fleming, Anthony Dean Griffey, Nicole Cabell, Timothy W. Sparks, Ian Greenlaw ....
Over the course of his career, Maloy amassed a repertoire of 35 operatic and 10 oratorio roles. He continued to
perform while teaching, appearing as a soloist with the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra and in the popular summer series
"Opera Under the Stars", held in Rochester's Highland Park. He gave recitals and sang as a guest soloist with Eastman School
ensembles.
Maloy also joined the casts of Eastman Opera productions, including The magic flute and Albert Herring in 1966. In 1973,
he appeared in The truth about windmills, a one-act opera about three residents of an old age home. The production was only
the third performance of the work, which had a score by Alec Wilder and libretto by Arnold Sundgaard. Opera News, which
reviewed the performance, noted that "Maloy's spunky Mr. Traherne (emerges) as the most sympathetic characterization".
In 1976, he sang the role of the Barber in The disappointment or The force of credulity. Written in 1767, the work is
considered America's first ballad opera, setting lyrics to popular tunes of the period. The setting of original tunes
was written by composer and Eastman faculty member Samuel Adler.
In 2003, John Maloy received the Eastman School's Eisenhart Award for Excellence in Teaching.
Reference: Rochester Democrat and Chronicle, February 14/15, 2012
Reference: Der neue Merker
Reference: Eastman School of Music
