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A native of North Carolina, mezzo-soprano Jami Rhodes is currently Professor of Voice at East Carolina University where she teaches applied voice, conducts the ECU Concert Choir (ECU's treble ensemble), and serves as coordinator of vocal pedagogy. She holds the Doctor of Musical Arts degree in vocal performance and pedagogy from Louisiana State University, a Master of Music in vocal performance from the University of South Carolina, and a Bachelor of Music in music education from East Carolina University. Dr Rhodes also maintains a private voice studio and serves on the faculty of the New York State Summer School for the Arts (NYSSSA). She is an active member of the National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS) and serves as faculty advisor for ECU’s student NATS chapter. She is an active presenter, adjudicator, and masterclass clinician in solo vocal and choral capacities across the country and, in addition to her involvement with NATS, is also a member of NAfME and ACDA. Dr Rhodes’ students have won top prizes at NC, Mid-Atlantic Regional, and National NATS competitions, the Classical Singer Vocal Competition, and the Orpheus national vocal competition. Her vocal students are regularly accepted into prestigious undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral programs across the country. As a conductor, she is a regular clinician for festival, honor, and all-state choirs around the United States. In 2018, Dr. Rhodes received the Board of Governor's Award for Excellence in Teaching, East Carolina University's highest teaching honor.
Dr Rhodes is also an active performer in a variety of genres and holds a number of favorite operatic roles to her credit including Rosina in Il Barbiere di Siviglia, Dorabella in Cosi fan tutte, Baba in The Medium, Madame de Croissy in Dialogues of the Carmelites, Jo in Little Women, Charlotte in Werther, Lucretia in The Rape of Lucretia, Florence Pike in Albert Herring, The Old Lady in Candide and the title role in Bizet’s Carmen. Dr Rhodes has been a winner in the Orpheus National Vocal Competition and a District Winner and Regional Finalist in the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions. She has sung with Des Moines Metro Opera, Nashville Opera, Central City Opera, Lake George Opera, Opera in the Ozarks, the Ohio Light Opera, North Carolina Opera, the Greenville Choral Society and Orchestra, the Choral Society of Durham, the Louisiana Sinfonietta, the Baton Rouge Symphony Orchestra, the South Carolina Philharmonic, the Clemson Symphony Orchestra, the Wilmington Symphony, the Carolina Philharmonic, Symphony of the Mountains, the Knoxville Symphony, and the Austin Symphony.
Also a frequent of the concert stage, Dr Rhodes has been heard as mezzo-soprano soloist in a number of works including Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9, Verdi’s Requiem, Handel’s Messiah, Saint-Saëns’ Oratorio de Noël, Bach’s Magnificat and B Minor Mass, Mendelssohn’s Elijah, Mozart’s Requiem, Haydn’s Lord Nelson Mass, Brahms’ Alto Rhapsody, Rossini’s Petite Messe Solennelle, and Schoenberg’s Pierrot lunaire and Book of Hanging Gardens. Her recording of Dinos Constantinides’ Marche de Galvez with the Louisiana Sinfonietta and Schola Cantorum was released by Centaur Records in February of 2008. Praised for her “impeccable comic timing” and “lovable and unique” characterizations, Dr Rhodes is also active in operetta and cross-over repertoire. Her portrayal of the Baroness von Krakenfeldt can be heard on the Ohio Light Opera’s recording of Gilbert and Sullivan’s The Grand Duke released by Albany Records in 2003. Dr. Rhodes can also be heard as mezzo-soprano soloist in Dwight Bigler's Mosaic for Earth (a new multi-movement work for choir, children's choir, SATB soloists, and orchestra) released by Tonsehen Records in January 2023.
Upcoming performances include Jake Heggie’s Iconic Legacies (First Ladies at the Smithsonian) and mezzo-soprano soloist in Bach’s Himmelskoenig, sei willkommen BWV 182, Mozart’s Requiem, Bach’s Mass in B Minor, Handel’s Messiah, Kim Andre Arnesen’s Tuvayhum, and the premiere of Terre Johnson’s Te Deum, as well as the role of Mattie in the premiere of Mark Taggart's opera Gal Young 'Un.