Joshua May

Biography

Dr. Joshua May, tenor, is an Associate Professor of Voice and the Director of Opera Activities 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. He has been a featured performer in recitals across the United States. In the 2024/2025 season, he will premier new vocal works by American composers, Griffin Candey and Traci Mendel. He is also 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 national and international directing credits include productions of Amahl & the Night Visitors, Die Zauberflöte, Rusalka, Don Giovanni, Hansel & Gretel, Falstaff, and Pélleas et Mélisande. His work as a director has been recognized by both the American Prize and the National Opera Association. Dr. May is an active stage director working with universities/colleges, opera companies, and international opera festivals. Dr. May is a current faculty member and stage director at the Festival of International Opera in Urbania, Italy.

He has presented his research on vocal literature, vocal pedagogy, and opera performance practice with the National Opera Association, College Music Society, National Association of Teachers of Singing, New Voice Educators Symposium, Alabama Music Educators Association, Georgia Music Educators Association, Georgia THESCON, the 13th Annual International Conference on Visual and Performing Arts in Athens, Greece,  the 15^th Annual Prague Quadrennial in the Czech Republic, and the National Lilly Conference.

As a voice educator, he is an active member of the National Association of Teachers of Singing. He was selected by the National Association of Teachers of Singing for the NATS Intern Program in 2014. He currently serves on the executive board for Georgia NATS as the Vice-President. In addition, he serves as the Governor for the Southeastern Region and is the Chair for the Student Programming Committee of the National Opera Association. He has served as an active adjudicator, master clinician, guest director for Classical Singer, NATS, NOA, Georgia Literary Competition, Georgia Governor‘s Honors Program, MTNA, MSVMA, Kiwanis Club Music Showcase, Great Lakes Male Chorus Association, University/Collegiate programs, and both national and international young artist opera programs.

His voice students have won state, regional, national, and international prizes. They have also been recipients of voice scholarships at the undergraduate and graduate levels in university/collegiate music programs across the nation. Dr. May holds a D.M.A. in Voice Performance from the University of Connecticut, an M.M. in Vocal Performance from the New England Conservatory of Music, an M.M. in Vocal Pedagogy from the New England Conservatory of Music, and a B.M. in Voice Performance from the University of Florida. Dr. May has completed all three certification levels at the LoVetri Institute for Somatic Voicework.

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