James D. Rodriguez

Praised for his “authoritative and rich baritone”, James D. Rodriguez has appeared as Escamillo (Carmen), Figaro (Il barbiere di Siviglia), Dandini (La Cenerentola), Don Profondo (Il viaggio a Reims), Harlekin (Ariadne auf Naxos), Faninal (Der Rosenkavalier), Belcore (L’elisir d’amore), Captain Magallanes (Salsipuedes), Dr. Rappaccini (La Hija de Rappaccini), Baron de Gondremarck (La Vie Parisienne), Harašta (The Cunning Little Vixen), Vicar (Albert Herring), Nardo (La finta giardiniera), Figaro (Le nozze di Figaro), Tonio (Pagliacci) and as the title roles in Don Giovanni and Rigoletto with such companies as Des Moines Metro Opera, Opera IOWA, Opera in the Heights, Utah Festival Opera & Musical Theatre, Opera Theater of Pittsburgh, the Natchez Festival of Music, and the Moores Opera Center.  Concert appearances include Beethoven’s 9th Symphony & Mass in C, Fauré’s Requiem, Handel’s Messiah, Carlisle Floyd’s Pilgrimage, Mahler’s Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen, and Rossini’s Petite Messe Solennelle with the Houston Camerata, Fort Bend Symphony, and San Antonio Symphony, among others.

He has performed recitals with PianoTexas Festival, the Festival of American Song (with composer Libby Larsen), the Phil Kramer Recital Series, Memorial Classic Music Series (Houston), and Austin Chamber Music Center, for which he was awarded an Austin Critics Table Award for his participation in “Black Composers Concert: The Black Female Composer”, with pianist, Dr. Artina McCain.  He was also the first place winner of the Young Texas Artist Vocal Competition in 2012.

An active researcher and clinician, Dr. Rodriguez has presented at various conferences, including the TEXOMA NATS Artist Series, TEXOMA National Opera Association, Texas Music Educators Association, NATS National Conference, the Voice Foundation Symposium, and the Pan American Vocology Association.  His research interests include the works of underrepresented composers, particularly black females (with an article in the NATS Journal of Singing), interdisciplinary studies across genres, and the pedagogy of repertoire assignments as it relates to vocal health.

Rodriguez holds the Doctor of Musical Arts  and Master of Music degrees from the University of Houston, a Bachelor of Music from Southern Methodist University, and is a Certified Vocologist from the National Center for Voice and Speech where he studied under the guidance of Dr. Ingo Titze.  Dr. Rodriguez is an Assistant Professor of Voice and Voice Pedagogy at Texas Christian University, where he teaches applied voice and oversees the graduate pedagogy program.  Before his appointment at TCU, he taught at Galena Park ISD (Houston), Vivaldi Music Academy (Houston), the Moores School of Music at the University of Houston, and Interlochen Center for the Arts (Michigan).

Research Presentations – NATS National Conference (June 2020), TMEA National Convention (February 2020), NOA TEXOMA Presentation (September 2019), PAVA International Conference (October 2019), TEXOMA NATS Artist Series Recital (November 2018), Black Female Composers Recital (2018-present).

Creative Activity – Messiah (San Antonio Symphony), Carmina Burana (Fort Bend Symphony), PianoTexas Festival, Festival of American Song (with Libby Larsen), Rigoletto (Natchez Festival of Music), Tonio in Pagliacci (Opera in the Heights).

TCU CFA Arts Programming & Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion Grant

TCU Junior Faculty Summer Research Program Grant

Austin Critics Table Award

Texas Young Artists Competition Gold Medal Winner

College Music Society

National Association of Teachers of Singing

Texas Music Educators Association

The Voice Foundation

Pan American Vocology Association

NATS for a Lifetime Coordinator

NATS Membership Committee

DFW NATS Secretary

TCU College of Fine Arts Faculty Senator

TCU Senate Governance Committee

TCU CFA DEI Committee

TCU CFA Curriculum Committee