Classical crossover singer Chris Macchio, who will perform the national anthem at President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration next week, told Newsmax on Friday that he hopes to help Americans connect more with classical music and the fine performing arts during the incoming president’s second administration.
“I’ve had the opportunity over the length of my career to go from delivering recitals, which is what you’re taught to do at a music conservatory, and then broaden and transcend some of the typical boundaries of classical music into the classical crossover space,” Macchio said on “Wake Up America.” “I’ve received calls from all across the United States, and it could be a gentleman from Texas and I’ll get a voicemail – ‘I don’t understand Italian, son, but you’ve got one hell of a voice!’ And so, for me, that’s one form of the highest praise you can get: some gentleman who’s never listened to opera before tells you that now he’s going to start listening.
“That’s really one of my goals in this upcoming administration, actually. I’m hoping, and I’m in discussions, about serving on a number of boards related to the arts. One of my missions is to fill what I perceive as a void in the conservative movement with respect to the arts and classical music in particular. I’d really like to play whatever role I can in moving back the fine performing arts as the gold standard for our country and an aspirational kind of genre of music, and I hope people can connect to it and find it relatable with the way that I am able to deliver this material.”
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