Josh Uabanbury is a singer and librettist working in opera and jazz. Most recently, Banbury made his debut at Lincoln Center with members of The New York Philharmonic performing selections from “The Singing Prophet” by eden abhez.
He is currently a fellow with The American Lyric Theatre in New York City, considered to be the country’s premier mentorship initiative for promising operatic writers. Additionally, Banbury served as the first Julius Eastman Fellow at Looking Glass Arts in the summer of 2025.
Banbury was born and raised in Austin, Texas, and began writing plays and performing locally at the age of ten. He began classical voice lessons as a teenager and proceeded to win top prizes from competitions such as YoungArts, in both opera and music theatre, along with a full scholarship to study classical voice at The Austin School for Performing and Visual Arts.
Since graduating from The New School in 2020, Joshua has enjoyed a blossoming career as a vocalist, enjoying opportunities to sing at venues such as Lincoln Center, The Kennedy Center, National Sawdust, The YoungArts Foundation, Soho House Austin, and The Carver Museum.
His libretti have been presented by Washington National Opera, The American Lyric Theater, The Kennedy Center, Fort Worth Opera, The National Symphony Orchestra, and The Coalition for African Americans in the Performing Arts.
In 2025, his ten-minute opera "The Burning Bush", composed by Jasmine Barnes, premiered at The Washington National Opera, and was celebrated as "surrealist, clever, and precisely imagined" by The Washington Post.
In the spring of 2026, Joshua will present a recital at The Phillips Collection with pianist, Aaron Diehl. Additionally, the premiere of his first song cycle for celebrated tenor, Russell Thomas, “Visions from The Fever Dream” will premiere at his Los Angeles Opera recital, with music by Damien Geter in February 2026.
Photo by Rahil Fornette