Teacher

Dr. Joshua May, tenor, is an Assistant Professor of Voice and Opera Director at the Schwob School of Music at Columbus State University. He has performed and premiered works throughout Europe, Canada, and the United States. He is an avid recitalist and oratorio singer, performing recently as a soloist in Bach’s Magnificat, Mozart's Requiem, Handel's Messiah, and Dubois's Seven Last Words of Christ. In 2021, he will be premiering Jay Batzner’s song cycle, A Dream of Fabled Lands. He is an operatic artist in high demand, performing over thirty operatic roles that range from the Baroque repertoire to premiers of new works. He has performed such recent roles as Tamino in Mozart's Die Zauberflöte, Male Chorus in Britten's Rape of Lucretia, Rinuccio in Gianni Schicchi, Prince Paul in Offenbach's La Grande-Duchesse de Gérolstein, and Ferrando in Mozart's Così fan tutte.

As an opera director, his recent directing credits include mainstage and outreach productions of Amahl & the Night Visitors,Alcina, Hansel & Gretel, Little Red Riding Hood, and Captain Lovelock. He has directed opera productions of Viardot’s Cendrillon, Ching’s Speed Dating Tonight!, and The Light in the Piazza at Columbus State University. He is a national semi-finalist for the Charles Nelson Reilly Prize for Stage Directors in both opera and musical theatre from the American Prize. In addition, Schwob Opera Theatre was selected as a national finalist for the National Opera Association’s Collegiate Opera Scenes Competition under his direction in 2019. He was a resident artist this summer with Pittsburgh Festival Opera, where served as an assistant director for their production of Wagner’s Die Walküre and as an associate director for a world premiere of an opera set to the life story and music of Puccini, Scandals. Dr. May has served as a faculty artist in the opera directing program with the Druid City Opera Workshop at the University of Alabama and as an opera directing fellow at the Hawaii Performing Arts Festival.

He has presented his research with the National Opera Association, College Music Society, National Association of Teachers of Singing, New Voice Educators Symposium, and the Lilly Conference. He was also selected for the National Association of Teachers of Singing Intern Program in 2014. Prior to his appointment to the Schwob School of Music at Columbus State University, Dr. May was on the music faculty at the University of Michigan-Flint. While on faculty, he taught a variety of vocal arts courses that included applied voice, diction for singers, vocal pedagogy, and song literature. In addition, he developed an active opera workshop program and an opera outreach program that saw over 10,000 students through performance and education workshops in the region.

As a voice educator, he is an active member of the National Association of Teachers of Singing. He currently serves on the executive board for Georgia NATS as the Co-Educational Chair. In addition, he serves as the Governor for the Southeastern Region and is on the Student Involvement Initiative Committee of NOA. He has served as an active adjudicator, master clinician, guest director, and voice specialist for Michigan School Vocal Music Association, Classical Singer, NATS, NOA, Great Lakes Male Chorus Association, and University/Collegiate programs across the nation. Dr. May has completed all three certification levels at the LoVetri Institute for Somatic Voicework.

His voice students have recently won prizes at the International Music Grand Prix, National Federation of Music Club's Student Collegiate Biennial Competition, Kalamazoo Bach Festival, St. Cecilia Music Awards, MTNA, Schmidt Vocal Competition, and the NATS Auditions. His students have also competed as selected finalists at the International Music Grand Prix, Charleston International Music Competition, MTNA, NATS Auditions, Classical Singer Competition, Orpheus Voice Competition, Vann Vocal Institute, Ethel J. Armeling Voice Scholarship Competition, S. Livingston Mather Scholarship Competition for Male Voice Students, Verdi Opera Theatre of Michigan, and the Harold Haugh Light Opera Vocal Competition. His students have been recipients of voice scholarships at the undergraduate and graduate levels in university music programs across the nation. Dr. May holds a D.M.A. Voice Performance from the University of Connecticut, an M.M. Vocal Performance New England Conservatory of Music, an M.M. Vocal Pedagogy New England Conservatory of Music, and a B.M. Voice Performance University of Florida.

For information on upcoming engagements, please visit his website www.joshuamaytenor.com.