Jason Bishop ’98 never had formal training or lessons, couldn’t read music, and had never sung in a choir when he came to Rhodes in 1994. But when Professor Tony Lee Garner discovered him singing in a practice room in Hassell Hall, he encouraged him to audition for the Rhodes Singers. That encounter changed Bishop’s life, and he ended up double majoring in music and Greek & Roman studies and singing in both the Rhodes Singers and the semi-professional ensemble MasterSingers Chorale.
This fall, Bishop is joining the Department of Music as visiting assistant professor and choral director.
“Returning to Rhodes now marks a homecoming, not only to my alma mater, but to the place where my life as a musician began,” said Bishop. “Since then, a belief in the liberal arts approach has been at the core of my work as an educator, because of the space it allows for interdisciplinary study, and because of the opportunities it creates to forge connections between music and the world at-large.”
Bishop comes to Rhodes after serving as director of choral activities at St. Lawrence University. He earned a master’s degree in choral conducting from Boston University and a doctorate from the University of Oklahoma and has taught courses in music history, music theory and aural skills, choral methods, and conducting.
“Rhodes deeply values its longstanding tradition of excellence in music and choral studies, and I am excited to have Jason Bishop back on campus to lead our program in the coming year,” said Dr. Timothy S. Huebner, provost and vice president for academic affairs.
Bishop plans to continue the vision and enthusiasm the role of a Rhodes choral director requires, providing students with a high-quality education in both music literacy and vocal technique. “But in the ever-evolving landscape of higher education, and in our increasingly global music profession, I think it’s important to think beyond technical skills, too,” he said. “I want to nurture artists who can connect emotionally with their listeners, and who love learning about cultures other than their own. I hope to mold not just musicians in choir, but collaborators, lifelong learners, advocates for the arts, and responsible citizens who can contribute meaningfully to their communities.”
Established in 1937, the Rhodes Singers has a rich history of touring the United States and internationally. Its esteemed conductors include Burnet C. Tuthill, Tony Lee Garner ’65, Timothy Sharp, and most recently William Skoog. Skoog, a member of the Rhodes music faculty since 2009 and chair of the Department of Music from 2009 to 2018, retired at the end of the Spring 2024 semester.
The Rhodes Singers perform repertoire from various stylistic periods, both a cappella and accompanied.
“I’m also committed to as much diversity as possible in the repertoire we learn, which means programming both traditional and nontraditional music from different eras, and amplifying the music of composers from underrepresented populations,” said Bishop. “I think choir should be a place where students from the widest range of experiences and abilities can find common ground in their love of music, and in the collective pursuit of excellence. The choral art form is a unifying and equalizing force.”
Bishop added that some of his closest friends today are individuals he met as an undergraduate in the Rhodes Singers. Many of them are the same friends who participated in a special choir he formed as part of his senior project, tracing the influence of Greek and Roman drama on the evolution of early opera. A recently created Facebook group for Rhodes Singers Alumni had 124 members join in its first 24 hours.
Although he had learned much through observation in the many hours of choral rehearsal and performances throughout his time at Rhodes, Bishop studied formal conducting with Garner his senior year.
“In my last semester at Rhodes, Tony called me into his office after we’d just performed and recorded the Rachmaninoff Vespers to tell me that he had been diagnosed with a terminal illness, that he would be unable to finish the semester, and that I would be conducting the Rhodes Singers on tour,” said Bishop. “I don’t know how many times or in how many different ways I tried to tell him that I couldn’t possibly do it, that I just wasn’t ready. But he insisted, and eventually I complied.”
Garner also encouraged Bishop to audition for the graduate program in choral conducting at Boston University, and that the then-director of that program was expecting the application.
“Tony was brilliant, as both a musician and a teacher,” said Bishop. “He embodied a balance between the careful, detailed, studious approach one might expect of an analytical musician or a concert organizer, and the passionate, artistic energy of an inspired performer. The time I spent with him, the lessons I learned from him, and the music we made together left an indelible mark on me as a student, and it set an exceptionally high bar for my own career as a choral conductor.”
Not long after Bishop graduated, Garner died on June 24, 1998, and Bishop conducted the choir at his memorial service.
For now, Bishop is gearing up for the new choral season at Rhodes. Auditions for the Rhodes Singers will take place at the end of August, and the first concert will be during homecoming on Nov. 1 at 4 p.m. in McNeill Concert Hall.