Royce Blackburn is Chair of the UND Department of Music and Assistant Professor of Voice. He has served on the faculty of the University of North Dakota for eight years where he teaches both undergraduate and graduate Voice, Lyric diction, and where he has directed the UND Opera Workshop. He has also served on the faculty of McMurry University. Dr. Blackburn earned his Doctorate of Music in Vocal Performance from Indiana University, and he holds the Bachelor of Music Education degree from the University of Texas at Arlington and the Master of Music degree in Vocal Performance from the University of North Texas.
Dr. Blackburn’s voice students have a record of success, excelling as regional finalists in the Metropolitan Opera’s National Auditions, as regional finalists in the national MTNA Young Artist Performance Competitions, and have performed professionally with regional and national opera companies. The UND Opera Workshop has also grown under his direction. Performances under his direction include Mozart’s Così fan tutte, The Mikado, Kurt Weill’s Down in the Valley, and most recently Henry Purcell’s The Fairy Queen.
Dr. Blackburn is active in professional and academic forums as well. He currently serves as president of the North Dakota chapter of the National Association of Teachers of Singing. In the summer of 2006 he co-presented “Teaching the Rural Student” at the national conference of NATS, and he has given lectures at the 2006 and 2005 NDMEA state conferences. He is also an active clinician and adjudicator, leading collegiate classes from Manitoba to Texas and judging throughout the Northern Plains.
Dr. Blackburn has performed on opera and concert stages throughout the United States. Organizations with which he has sung include the Indianapolis Opera, the Ash-Lawn Highland Opera Festival, the Abilene Opera, the Western Plains Opera, the Quad Cities Mozart Festival, the Greater Grand Forks Symphony, and the Abilene Classical Chorus. His roles include such diverse characters as Papageno in The Magic Flute, Chou en lai in Adams’ Nixon in China, and Fredrik from Sondheim’s A Little Night Music.
Back to Faculty |
