Roderick George

Lyric Tenor RODERICK GEORGE joined the University of Montevallo faculty in the fall of 2004 as Assistant Professor of Voice, and he teaches applied voice, vocal literature, and diction courses. A native of Mobile, Alabama, Dr. George earned the Doctor of Music degree in voice performance from The Florida State University, a Master of Music degree in opera and music theater from Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, and dual-baccalaureate degrees in music and English from Stillman College.  He received advanced training in opera at the American Institute of Musical Studies (Graz, Austria), and he has been a Resident Artist with Amarillo Opera (TX) and an apprentice artist with Des Moines Metro Opera. An active member of the National Association of Teachers of Singing, Dr. George was selected to participate in the highly competitive NATS Internship program at Colorado State University in 2004, where he studied vocal pedagogy with Clifton Ware, master teacher and author of Adventures in Singing. Among his primary teachers and coaches are Larry Gerber, Everett McCorvey, Jeanine Wagner, Timothy Hoekman, Roger Malouf, Douglas Fisher, and Robert Larsen. He has participated in master classes with Marilyn Horne, Gabriella Lechner, Stanford Olsen, Diana Soviero, and Richard Miller.

 On the operatic stage, Dr. George recently returned to St. Louis for his second season as a principal artist with Union Avenue Opera where he performed the role of Tamino in Die Zauberflöte.  Among his other operatic roles are Rodolfo in La Bohème, Don Ottavio in Don Giovanni, Alfredo in La Traviata, Ferrando in Cosí fan tutte, the title role of Albert Herring, Camille de Rosillion in The Merry Widow, Benedict in Beatrice and Benedict, Dr. Cajus in Falstaff, Ralph Rackstraw in HMS. Pinafore, and principal roles in several contemporary operas with Alabama Operaworks. His recent concert performances included Haydn’s Creation with the Southeastern Chamber Orchestra, and Messiah performances throughout Alabama, North Carolina, and Mississippi.  He has also performed as tenor soloist in Beethoven’s 9^th Symphony and Mozart’s Mass in C Minor, both performed with the Tuscaloosa Symphony, Mendelssohn’s Elijah with the Northwest Florida Symphony, Orff's Carmina Burana and Bach’s Magnificat with the Troy University Orchestra and Chorus, Brucker’s Te Deum with the Florida State University Symphony, and Honegger’s King David with the University of Alabama in Birmingham.  He made his European debut as a featured soloist in a series of concerts with the Festival Orchestra and conductors Alexander Kalajdzic, Roland Seiffarth, and Mark Stringer in Austria.  

A specialist in art songs set to poetry of Paul Laurence Dunbar and Langston Hughes, Dr. George has presented this repertoire in recitals throughout Alabama, Florida, North Carolina, Texas, and Illinois. Additionally, he endeavors to preserve and expand the performance of the American Negro spiritual as a regular soloist on tour with the acclaimed American Spiritual Ensemble under the direction of Everett McCorvey.  In competition, he has been a regional finalist in the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, the NATS Artist Awards, San Francisco Opera Center Auditions, Florida Grand Opera Auditions, MacAllister Awards, Rose-Palmai Competition of Mobile Opera, and a finalist in the Orpheus National Competition for Vocalist where he received the Giacomo Puccini Award. Dr. George is a member of NATS, Pi Kappa Lambda National Music Honor Society, Mu Phi Epsilon International, and the College Music Society.  Named in Who’s Who Among America’s Teachers, he previously taught on the faculty at Stillman College.  His future performances include a solo recital at UM and a debut with Asheville Lyric Opera as Don Ottavio in Don Giovanni.