The Shepherd School of Music welcomes Michael Heaston as Director of Opera Studies and Robin Rice as Professor of Voice.
Michael Heaston, Director of Opera Studies
A well-respected artistic administrator, collaborative pianist and vocal coach, Michael Heaston has established himself as one of opera’s leading mentors and teachers of young singers and pianists. Artists he has developed currently enjoy major careers on the world’s most important stages. He became the Executive Director of the prestigious Lindemann Young Artist Development Program at The Metropolitan Opera in August 2016 and subsequently assumed the additional role of Acting Artistic Director. For three years he was the Director of the Domingo-Cafritz Young Artist Program and the American Opera Initiative and served as Advisor to the Artistic Director of the Washington National Opera at The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.
Prior to his position at The Metropolitan Opera, Mr. Heaston assumed numerous roles of increasing responsibility at The Glimmerglass Festival over 11 seasons, completing his tenure in the position of Associate Artistic Director, in which he was integrally involved with all matters of season planning and casting. He also oversaw the direction of the Young Artists Program and all matters of musical administration. He spent six seasons at The Dallas Opera, where he was Head of Music Staff and Assistant Conductor for more than 25 productions. He also served as Score Consultant for The Metropolitan Opera’s Emmy and Peabody award-winning “Live in HD” movie theater transmission series for seven seasons
Mr. Heaston earned Bachelor of Music degrees in piano pedagogy and arts administration from Drake University in his hometown of Des Moines, Iowa, where he won the Outstanding Senior Award in the Department of Music. He received a Master of Music degree in accompanying and coaching in 2004 from the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities. His principal teachers have included Margo Garrett, Brian Zeger, Timothy Lovelace and Chiu-Ling Lin. He was named one of Musical America’s Top 30 Professionals of the Year for 2015, and he won the Young Alumni Achievement Award from Drake in April 2017.
On the concert stage, Mr. Heaston is in high demand as a collaborator and has partnered with many of today’s most important artists, including Christine Goerke, Dolora Zajick and Eric Owens. He has also collaborated with Ailyn Pérez, Stephen Costello, Noah Stewart, Rod Gilfry and Laura Claycomb. He was a founding member of The Prairie Song Project along with mezzo soprano Katharine Goeldner and flutist Amy Morris. The trio performed to great acclaim in Scotland, England, Austria and the United States.
A sought-after adjudicator, he has been a frequent judge for the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions and also served on the juries of the Dallas Opera Guild Vocal Competition, Jensen Vocal Competition, Young Patronesses of the Opera Competition, Giargiari Bel Canto Competition at the Academy of Vocal Arts, NATSAA Competition Finals, McCammon Vocal Competition, DC Vocal Arts Art Song Competition and many others. Mr. Heaston is also in demand as a clinician, having served as an artist-in-residence and/or presented master classes at The Juilliard School, University of Michigan, Florida Grand Opera, Southern Methodist University, University of North Texas, Drake University, Banff Centre for the Performing Arts, Miami Summer Music Festival, University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, Abilene Christian University and Boston Conservatory at Berklee, to name a few. An active member of OPERA America, he serves on the steering committee of the Singer Training Forum and is a regular participant in the New Works Forum. He is also a member of the Artistic Advisory Board of The Glimmerglass Festival.
In addition to his full-time role at Rice, Mr. Heaston is the Music Director of the Houston Grand Opera Studio.
Robin Rice, Professor of Voice
Renowned for his teaching, Rice has served as a master teacher with Utah's Young Artist Apprentice Programs, the San Diego Opera Ensemble, the Florida Grand Opera's Young Artist Apprentice Program, the Nightingale Opera Theatre Young Artists program, the Pensacola Opera AIRS program and the Indianapolis Opera Resident Artists program. Rice has also taught at many prestigious summer programs, including the Amalfi Coast Music Program in Vietri sul Mare, Italy, the International Asian Opera Workshop in Taipei, Taiwan, the International Asian Opera Project in Kunming, China, the Up North Vocal Institute in Boyne City, Michigan, and the International Opera Festival in Beijing.
Rice offers master classes worldwide. He has previously given classes at Instituto Superior de Arte del Teatro Colon in Buenos Aires, Argentina; Castellina in Chianti Vocal Workshop in Tuscany, Italy; the Cullasaja Vocal Workshop in North Carolina; the University of Colorado at Boulder; Rice University; Saint Mary's College of Notre Dame; and Baylor University. He has also given a series of master classes in Taiwan and appeared as a master teacher in Kunming, China, and at Beijing University.
His students have performed leading roles in major international opera houses, including the Metropolitan Opera, the Royal Opera House at Covent Garden, Opéra-Théâtre de Limoges, Teatro Dell’Opera Roma, Glyndebourne Festival Opera, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Komische Oper Berlin, Firenze’s Teatro del Maggio Musicale, Bayerische Staatsoper, Royal Swedish Opera Stockholm, Kyrenia Opera, Los Angeles Opera, Sarasota Opera, San Diego Opera, Opera Company of Philadelphia, Florida Grand Opera, New Orleans Opera, Ft. Worth Opera, New York City Opera, Washington National Opera and more. Many of his students have won prestigious national and international competitions and/or have appeared in renowned apprentice programs, including Santa Fe, San Francisco, Chautauqua Opera, Opera Theater of St. Louis, Glimmerglass, The Academy of Vocal Arts and Wolf Trap.
An internationally active interpreter of art song, oratorio and opera, Rice has an operatic repertoire that spans diverse roles such as Mozart's Count Almaviva in "The Marriage of Figaro," Papageno in "The Magic Flute" and the Secret Police Agent in Menotti's "The Consul." He has also performed the world premieres of Reynold's "The Hollow Men," Rytel's "Blake Songs" and Dmitriev's "R.O.S." He has appeared as a soloist with the Northern Czech Philharmonic Orchestra in Teplice, Czech Republic, and the Columbus Symphony Orchestra. He continues to perform recitals in the U.S. and abroad.
Rice received his Bachelor of Music degree from Baylor University and his Master of Music and Doctor of Musical Arts degrees from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. A specialist in French repertoire, Rice was an honored participant under Elly Ameling, Gerard Souzay and Dalton Baldwin at the Cleveland Art Song Festival. Rice also won the Carolyn Brice Award in the National Association of Teachers of Singing Artist Award Competition. He has worked with many luminaries, such as Alberta Masiello, Theodore Uppmann, Barbara Honn, John Spong, Richard Hughes, Joyce Farwell, Kenneth Griffiths and Tom Jaber.
Rice's book, "Great Teachers on Great Singing," was published in 2017.