Jeffrey Richard Carter

Style: Classical; Pop; Musical Theatre

Title: Professor, Department of Music, Webster University

Bio:

https://jeffreycarter.wordpress.com/voice-studio/

Jeffrey Richard Carter is Professor in the Department of Music at Webster University in Saint Louis, Missouri, where he was Chair of the department for thirteen years until 2021. He is currently music director and composer for Circus Harmony, Saint Louis’ only social circus organization. An artist who loves students and whose heart is in academia, Carter is deeply committed to serving at local, regional, and national levels, and to teaching students at the high school and collegiate levels.

For the National Association of Teachers of Singing, Carter served the Kansas City chapter for several years as treasurer, and the Central Division in support roles at previous regional conferences. He presented an interest session at the Iowa City conference, and regularly adjudicates at NATS events, where his students have gained top marks at local, state, and regional events. His career as an educator includes performance tours to China and the UK; leadership of all-state performance ensembles in Missouri and Alabama, and of all-district choirs in Alaska, Indiana, Missouri, and Illinois; award-winning music direction for various Saint Louis theatre companies; choral performances at state and regional conferences; and leadership of the Variety Children’s Chorus in Saint Louis, a chorus for students with special needs.

Carter has performed professionally with the Lyric Opera of Kansas City, Kansas City Chorale, The Bach Society of Saint Louis, the Cathedral Basilica of Saint Louis, and the Saint Louis Symphony Chorus. He has composed music for and performed internationally with the Choir of Mixed Voices at Grace & Holy Trinity Episcopal Cathedral (Kansas City). Carter was a founding board member of the Simon Carrington Chamber Singers, Inc.

From 2005–2010, Carter was the national chairman of the Youth and Student Activities Repertoire and Standards Committee for the American Choral Directors Association. He also served on the board of the Conductors Guild, Inc. Carter was Artistic Director for the 2010 Saint Louis International Choral Festival. He is the 2012 Distinguished Alumnus for the University of Central Missouri Department of Music, and a 2014 inductee into the Lee’s Summit High School Hall of Fame. He is immediate past-President of the Missouri Association of Departments and Schools of Music. He currently serves the National Association of Schools of Music as a visiting evaluator.

Carter is especially proud that his students have held and continue to hold prominent positions in such various places as the male ensemble Chanticleer, on Broadway and in national tours, and on various college and university faculties.

At Webster University since 2008, he was previously Associate Professor and Associate Director of the School of Music at Ball State University. Prior to the year 2000, Carter’s previous academic engagements (teaching voice and choir) include Kentucky Wesleyan College, the University of Kansas, Graceland University in Iowa, the University of Central Missouri, the Metropolitan Community Colleges in Kansas City, and Music/Arts Institute, a community school for the arts in Independence, Missouri.

A recipient of the inaugural Opus Award from the Missouri Choral Directors Association for his composition “Phos Hilaron,” Carter remains an active composer, with recent commissions from choirs from Kansas City to New York City. His “Storypeople Songs” for voice and piano premiered in 2015. He holds the Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Choral Conducting from the University of Kansas, and the Master of Arts degree in Vocal Performance from the University of Central Missouri, with additional graduate study in contemporary commercial singing technique at Shenandoah Conservatory. Carter’s DMA in Choral Conducting is from the University of Kansas, and the MA in Vocal Performance from the University of Central Missouri. He has previously served in national leadership positions with American Choral Directors Association and Conductors Guild. He is past president of the Missouri Association of Departments and Schools of Music. Under his leadership, the Webster University Department of Music developed and implemented new degree programs, significantly increased international study participation by students, and more than doubled the number of endowed scholarships supporting students. His research interests include American operetta, contemporary musical theatre, the choral music of Herbert Howells, and contemporary commercial voice techniques. His happy place is in his garden or kitchen at home, or traveling the world taking cooking classes.

Voice Type: Baritone

Music Styles Taught: Classical; Pop; Musical Theatre

Availability: I am available as a performer; I am currently accepting private students; I am available as a clinician or presenter; I accept students through a college or university program

Contact Information