Doctoral student in vocal performance joins faculty of Delta State University

Dr. Chad R. Payton, countertenor, has accepted the assistant professor of music (voice) position at Delta State University in Cleveland, Mississippi. He will be teaching private voice instruction, studio voice class, sophomore aural skills, and music appreciation. In addition, he serves as General Manager for the nation's oldest young artist training program for opera and music theatre, Seagle Music Colony, in upstate New York during the summers. Payton will graduate with his D.M.A. in vocal performance from the University of Kansas this spring with honors, having been in the tutelage of Dr. Julia Broxholm.

He is originally from Lake of the Ozarks, Missouri, and completed both his BM (2004) and MM (2006) in vocal performance from the University of Missouri. He is a frequent performer of oratorio literature with regional symphonies, and made both his Carnegie Hall and Kennedy Center debuts in Michael Ching's Corps of Discovery: A Musical Journey. Dr. Payton's research interests include American art song compositions for the countertenor fach, and the study of French melodie performance practice techniques, particularly compositions by Reynaldo Hahn and Henri Duparc.