Biography

Pharel Jonathan Silaban is an Indonesian lyric tenor and a two-time Asian Cultural Council Graduate Fellow (2024, 2025). He holds a Doctor of Musical Arts from the University of Kentucky, a Master of Music from the Eastman School of Music, and a Graduate Diploma from the Royal College of Music in London. He was honored by the Kentucky Chapter of the National Society of Arts and Letters in 2023.

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As a performer, Silaban is a roster tenor with the American Spiritual Ensemble. His operatic credits include the workshop production of John Lewis: Good Trouble at Cincinnati Opera (2025), leading roles in A Nation of Others and Sanctuary Road, Gianni Schicchi, Carmen, and Carlisle Floyd's Susannah. In 2026, he presented at the Cascade Song Festival at the University of Washington as both performer and scholar. The Harstad Fine Arts Series describes Silaban as one of the highly regarded soloists of his generation.

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His research focuses on Indonesian classical art song. His doctoral dissertation, Seriosa and the Song Recital Tradition, makes the scholarly case for its inclusion in the Western recital canon. He is the founder of Rumah Seriosa (2024), a preservation hub for Indonesia's classical vocal heritage, and the organizer of Temu Sapa, the first national forum of the Indonesian Classical Singers Network.

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As a teacher, Silaban has served as a teaching assistant at the University of Kentucky School of Music and is the founder of Karya Vocal Studio, serving students across Jakarta, Surabaya, and Medan. His students have performed at Carnegie Hall and placed in national and international competitions.