Known internationally for a tone critics have described as “classy, clear, refined, polished, and lovely,” tenor Aaron Sheehan is best known for his interpretations of the oratorios and cantatas of Bach and Handel. But Sheehan, a College of Fine Arts lecturer in the School of Music historical performance program, moves easily from recital hall to opera stage, and has a prolific recording career. A recording of baroque composer Marc-Antoine Charpentier’s La descente d’Orphée aux enfers that Sheehan sang with the Boston Early Music Festival Chamber Ensemble earned him a 2015 Grammy Award on February 8.

A seasoned performer who has toured Europe and South America as well as the United States, Sheehan has sung at the Tanglewoood Music Center, New York’s Lincoln Center, the Washington National Cathedral, and Boston’s Jordan Hall, among many other venues. His professional opera debut was in 2005 as Ivan in the Boston Early Music Festival premiere of Johann Mattheson’s Boris Goudenow.

Bostonia spoke to Sheehan before the 57th Annual Grammy Awards about what winning would mean to his career, the demands of a successful performance career, and the most important lessons he imparts to aspiring singers.

Bostonia: This is your third Grammy nomination. Do you develop a case of nerves over these? How would winning affect your career?

Sheehan: I don’t really get nervous about these nominations. One never really expects it to happen, so it’s always a welcome surprise. Winning a Grammy should bring me more exposure, not only for my career, but also for the historical performance and voice programs at BU. It seems like a win-win situation.

You have an international reputation as an interpreter of Bach cantatas and oratorios. Did a passion for this music lead you to perform it, or does your voice naturally lend itself to these baroque works?

I am lucky in that I am extremely passionate about Bach and baroque music and the light nature and flexibility of my voice is ideally suited for it.

What makes Bach’s music so endlessly compelling?

He was a genius. Think of the thousands of CDs of Bach’s music. Now think of how many different ways and ideas there are about how to perform his music. It’s incredible, and I would say that almost all of them are relevant in some way.

Even though you sing a centuries-old repertoire, your voice is all your own. How do you cultivate that?

Singers need to spend countless hours working on vocal technique, music style, phrasing, and languages. It is the time spent here that allows us to then make the music our own as individuals.

Your voice is known for its lyricism and beauty; could you describe what you’d like audiences to hear and experience when they listen to you?

I have three things I want my audiences to experience. I want them to understand my text. If they can’t understand what I’m saying, what’s the point of singing? I want them to be moved emotionally. If I don’t move you, for better or worse, then I have failed. And I myself love beauty and a beautiful voice, so I am always striving for my sound to have beauty in it. I hope an audience member comes away saying, “Wow, that was beautiful.”

You’ve been touted for your versatility. Can you give examples of your range as a tenor? Can or do you ever sing countertenor?

In terms of a vocal range, tenors usually have the smallest range, but we generally have to be comfortable between a low C and a high C, a two-octave range. I never sing countertenor, as I have a horrible falsetto, but I do a lot of haute-contre repertoire, which is a specialty of the French baroque.

Can you compare the demands of the opera stage with those of the concert stage?

Opera is usually more involved, requiring makeup, costumes, wigs, four-week rehearsal periods, and staging. Concert work usually consists of two to four days of rehearsal and then two or three concerts. You can be in a different city with a different orchestra every week. Concert work fits into my teaching schedule much more than opera, so I tend to reserve my operas for January and the summer.

Which opera roles have been your favorites and why?

Any opera based on the Orpheus legend. I have a special place in my heart for Monteverdi’s Orfeo, maybe because it was my first big role in graduate school, but it has also been an opera I have been lucky to come back to several times in my life. I think the story of love and loss resonates with a wide audience and keeps a 400-year-old opera relevant. It’s also very foreign-sounding to most operagoers, so there is the fun/freak factor as well.

How does performing in Europe and abroad help you develop as a musician and as a performer? Do you have a favorite place to perform?

I think that every musician needs to spend time either studying, or just traveling, in Europe. Almost all the music I perform was meant for the opera houses and great churches of Europe. Any experience a singer can have on stage is part of our development as a musician and a person. Singing in Jordan Hall in Boston is always thrilling. It is my favorite acoustic hall in the United States and the audiences are always appreciative. However, I just had the opportunity to sing in the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, which is quite stunning as well.

Which tenors, living or not, have inspired you most? Which teachers?

Aksel Schiøtz and Anthony Rolfe Johnson are the tenors I most look up to. I have had so many teachers that have helped me along the way that it is hard to single just one out. I have been able to take knowledge from every single person who has taught or coached me, and for that, I thank them all.

Does teaching come naturally to you?

I’d like to believe that teaching comes naturally to me. I think I have a lot of patience and a desire to help my students figure out their vocal problems, or to build on the strengths they already possess.

What are the most important lessons you impart to your voice students here?

There are a couple of things I try to instill in all of my singers. I want my students to exude on stage the love that they have for singing. I want that love to be imparted to an audience. Also, there is never a time to rest on your laurels. There will always be someone there to take your place, so never stop practicing or having lessons. I still try and get lessons whenever I can.

What does it take—beyond practice, practice, practice—to be a successful professional in the world of classical music performance and recording?

I would say patience and persistence, talent, and luck.

In the video above, Aaron Sheehan (far left) performs Claudio Monteverdi’s “Duo seraphim” with other musicians at St. Mary the Virgin Church in New York City on January 3, 2013.