Dr. Roderick George (courtesy photo)

 

Tenor Roderick George Will Present
Recital at Mason Hall on March 9

Dr. Roderick George, tenor, will present a voice recital on Monday, March 9, 2009 at 7:30 p.m. in the Mason Hall Performance Center on the Jacksonville State University campus. Dr. George is an assistant professor of voice at the University of Montevallo, in Montevallo, Ala. He will be accompanied by Laurie Middaugh, and will present a program of music including selections by Gounod, Tosti, Gershwin, and Richard Rodgers.

Dr. George will also present a master class on Tuesday, March 10, at 9:45 a.m. in the Performance Center where he will work with individual JSU student singers. Both events are free and open to the public. For further information, please contact the David L. Walters Department of Music (256) 782-5559.

Dr. George recently made his role and company debut with Opera Theater of Pittsburgh as Sportin' Life in the company's new production of Gershwin's Porgy and Bess. Highlights of the 2007-2008 season included his company debut with Asheville Lyric Opera as Don Ottavio in Don Giovanni, and he returned to St. Louis for his second season with Union Avenue Opera as Tamino in Die Zauberflote after performing the role of Rodolfo in La Boheme with the company in 2006. In 2005, he made his European solo debut in a benefit concert for Doctors without Borders with the Festival Orchestra in Austria. Recent concert engagements have included Rossini's Stabat Mater and Gounod's Messe Solennelle with the Tulsa Symphony and Oratorio Chorus, Mendelssohn's Elijah with the Tuscaloosa and Northwest Florida Symphonies, Haydn's Creation and Mozart's Requiem with the Southeastern Chamber Orchestra, a guest appearance with the Clayton Symphony Orchestra of Missouri, and a concert tour in Spain as a soloist with the acclaimed American Spiritual Ensemble. In competition, he has been a regional finalist in the Metropolitan Opera Auditions, NATS Artist Awards, MacAllister Awards, Rose-Palmai Competition, and a finalist in the Florida Suncoast Opera Guild Competition, National Society of Arts and Letters Voice Competition, and the Orpheus National Voice Competition.

Dr. George holds the Doctor of Music degree from Florida State University, where he was awarded the Gallagher Memorial Award for outstanding performance and academic achievement. His doctoral treatise explored art song settings based on poems of Paul Laurence Dunbar and Langston Hughes. He earned the Master of Music degree at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, and dual-baccalaureate degrees in Music and English at Stillman College in Tuscaloosa. He received advanced training at the American Institute of Musical Studies in Graz, Austria, and he has been a Resident Artist with Amarillo Opera, where he performed the role of Alfredo in La Traviata, and an Apprentice Artist with Des Moines Metro Opera. An active member of the National Association of Teachers of Singing, he was selected to participate in the NATS Internship Program at Colorado State University in 2004, where he studied vocal pedagogy under the tutelage of Clifton Ware, author of the Basics of Vocal Pedagogy. Dr. George joined the faculty of the University of Montevallo in 2004, where he teaches applied voice, vocal literature, and diction courses. His future engagements include solo recitals at Tennessee State University, Samford University, and the University of Montevallo.

LAURIE MIDDAUGH received the Bachelor of Music degree in piano performance at the University of Montevallo, where she was an honor graduate and a student of Joan Cowan. She completed the Master of Music degree in piano performance at UM as a student of Anthony Pattin. She is currently a doctoral student at the University of Alabama pursuing the DMA in piano performance, studying with Amanda Penick. For the past several years she has served as an accompanist for student and faculty recitals, operas, revues, musical theater productions, and chamber ensembles at the University of Montevallo. She has been the musical director for the UM productions of Godspell and Hair, and serves as music director for the UM Theater Department. Mrs. Middaugh is also a staff accompanist for the UM Department of Music, and teachers piano classes, and is the director and an instructor of the UM Community School of Music. Additionally, she has performed extensively as pianist with the Magnolia Trio. She has performed chamber music at Artburst and at the Classical Oasis at City Stages. She has served as organist at several churches in Montevallo and is currently organist and choirmaster at the Church of the Holy Comforter. Mrs. Middaugh is married to Benjamin Middaugh, UM Professor Emeritus of Music.

 

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