Jeffrey Snider, Baritone

Jeffrey Snider is a native of Buffalo, New York, and received both bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Indiana University. He received the Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the University of North Texas in 1996. In 1998 he returned to the University of North Texas as an Associate Professor in the College of Music and now serves as chair of the Division of Vocal Studies.Earlier this season he performed the baritone solos in the Duruflé Requiem and Mendelssohn’s Die Erste Walpurgisnacht with the Tulsa Oratorio Society. In January he performed Schubert’s monumental song cycle Winterreise with legendary accompanist Harold Heiberg. Later this spring he will perform the title role of Mendelssohn’s Elijah with Boston Avenue United Methodist Church in Tulsa, and Orff’s Carmina Burana in Corpus Christi, Texas.This past summer he portrayed two famous operatic fathers: Peter in Humperdinck’s Hansel and Gretel with The Living Opera at the Eisemann Center in Richardson, and Germont in Verdi’s La Traviata with the Masterworks Festival in Winona Lake, Indiana. Last season he performed the title role in Verdi’s Falstaff with the Amarillo Opera and the role of “Judge Turpin” in a concert performance of Sweeney Todd with Lyric Stage of Irving, Texas at the Meyerson Symphony Center in Dallas. Other recent performances include the role of King Melchior in Menotti’s Amahl and the Night Visitors with the Richardson Symphony and The Living Opera and the role of Manoa in performances of Handel’s Samson under the direction of Dallas Opera Music Director Graeme Jenkins.Recent concert appearances include the title role in Mendelssohn’s Elijah with Oklahoma State University, Vaughan Williams’ Dona Nobis Pacem with the Ft. Myers (Florida) Symphonic Mastersingers, Orff’s Carmina Burana with the Knoxville (Tennessee) Symphony Orchestra, and Walton’s Belshazzar’s Feast with the Richardson Symphony Orchestra and Dallas Symphony Chorus.In May of 2005 he placed second in Opera New York’s inaugural “Chester Ludgin American Verdi Baritone Competition”, singing before a panel that included opera stars Placido Domingo, James Morris, and Regina Resnik. Mr. Snider has placed second in the Fort Worth Opera Guild’s Marguerite McCammon Competition and has been a recipient of a Dallas Opera Guild “Career Development Grant.” He has placed first in competitions sponsored by the National Opera Association and the Dallas/Fort Worth chapter of the National Association of Teachers of Singing. He has also been a regional finalist in the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions.Dr. Snider is the baritone soloist on the Klavier Music recording of Orff’s Carmina Burana with the North Texas Wind Symphony under the direction of Eugene Corporon.