About Roderick George
Renowned for his commanding stage presence, exceptional vocal prowess, and unwavering commitment to musical excellence, tenor Roderick George has captivated audiences across the globe. He has sung over eighty performances of Handel's Messiah, including his Lincoln Center debut, and recent appearances with the Alabama Symphony Orchestra, North Carolina Baroque Orchestra, Highland Park Chorale, and El Paso Choral Society. Other recent highlights have included Hailstork's I Will Lift Up Mine Eyes with Nashville Symphony, Mozart Requiem with Northwest Florida Symphony, Carmina Burana with Northeastern Pennsylvania Philharmonic and Huntsville Symphony Orchestra, Beethoven's Ninth Symphony with Alabama Symphony Orchestra, Lili Boulanger’s Faust et Hélène with New York Repertory Orchestra, and DvoÅ™ák Stabat Mater with Highland Park Chorale. Highly regarded for his performances of Nathaniel Dett's The Chariot Jubilee, he has collaborated with ensembles throughout the country, including multiple performances and a recording with the Oakwood University Aeolians and recent appearances with Savannah Philharmonic and Cleveland Orchestra Youth Chorus.
Photo Credit: Nathaniel Thompson
Roderick has concertized internationally, with notable highlights including appearances throughout Russia with the Orpheus Radio Symphony Orchestra and the Krasnoyarsk Philharmonic. As a music ambassador, he was privileged to perform at the U.S. Embassy in Moscow. Hailed for his “lyrical and profoundly expressive” voice (TriangleSings North Carolina), Roderick has performed a diversity of leading lyric tenor opera roles including Alfredo in La Traviata, Nemorino in L'elisir d'amore, Rodolfo in La Bohéme, Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly, Tamino in Die Zauberflöte, Don Ottavio in Don Giovanni, Sportin’ Life in Porgy and Bess, Roméo in Roméo et Juliette, Gérald in Lakmé, the title role of Albert Herring, Ferrando in Cosi fan tutte, Ralph Rackstraw in HMS Pinafore, Camille de Rosillion in The Merry Widow and David in I Was Looking at the Ceiling and then I Saw the Sky, appearing with regional companies such as Opera Birmingham, Dayton Opera, Pensacola Opera, Asheville Lyric Opera, Lyric Opera Cleveland, Opera Wilmington, Amarillo Opera, Union Avenue Opera, Opera Theatre of Pittsburgh, Greensboro Opera, and Southern Illinois Music Festival.
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An accomplished song recitalist, Roderick is a champion of American art song with particular interest in the art songs of H.T. Burleigh. As a specialist in the songs set to texts of poets Paul Laurence Dunbar and Langston Hughes, the tenor brings a profound understanding of the cultural and historical significance of these works. To that end, he had the honor of singing the world premiere of Adolphus Hailstork’s “Four Romantic Love Songs” on poems of Dunbar and he will be featured on the forthcoming recording of Doug McConnell’s “Langston’s Lot,” a song cycle for tenor, alto saxophone, and piano. A multifaceted artist, his professional ensemble affiliations have included recordings and multiple concert tours across North America and Europe with the American Spiritual Ensemble and currently he is a featured soloist with the Jason Max Ferdinand Singers, including the ensemble's recent debut in London at Royal Albert Hall.
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With a career that seamlessly combines performance and academia, Roderick is professor of music at the University of Montevallo where he teaches courses in applied voice, song literature, foreign language lyric diction, and African American music. He holds graduate degrees in voice performance, opera, and musical theater, including the Doctor of Music degree, from The Florida State University and Southern Illinois University Carbondale, with advanced training in Austria at the American Institute of Musical Studies. He completed undergraduate degrees in music and English at Stillman College. Based in Birmingham, Alabama, he is also an Artist-in-Residence at the Bay View Music Festival in northern Michigan.
(Updated 5/25)
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"Roderick George sang with such control and ease as to imply Ottavio’s arias are simple. Mr. George’s tenor is lyrical and profoundly expressive. His intelligent and well conceived acting realized Ottavio’s deep love for Anna through understated, reserved mannerisms that only occasionally allowed his frustrations at being unable to enact vengeance to show through."
William Adams, TriangleSings North Carolina