A vanguard artist in the classical vocal world, Davóne Tines moves fluidly and defiantly between disparate repertoire, embracing contemporary art music, Baroque arias and spirituals in ideologically rich, sometimes confrontational stage performances. The bass-baritone was born in 1986 in rural Virginia, where he developed concurrent interests in gospel and classical singing. A graduate of Harvard and Juilliard, Tines had his international breakthrough in Peter Sellars’ lauded premiere of Kaija Saariaho's Only the Sound Remains (2016) at the Dutch National Opera. Tines’ trenchant performance set the precedent for an illustrious career in the world of contemporary opera, including premieres of works by John Adams, Terence Blanchard and Matthew Aucoin. The singer has worked in an administrative capacity at various artistic institutions, helping them to prioritise and highlight marginalised voices and communities. In recent years, he has contributed to communally created works like 2020's Lincoln Center audiovisual installation VIGIL—composed with Igee Dieudonné in memory of Breonna Taylor—and 2022’s ambitious, semi-autobiographical multimedia stage piece, Everything That Rises Must Converge, with violinist Jennifer Koh.