Dr. Kerry Jennings

Director of Vocal Activities, Voice

Phone: 757-683-4069
E-Mail: KJenning@odu.edu
Website: www.kerryjennings.com

Tenor Kerry Lee Jennings holds the Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Music, and Master of Music Degrees from the University of Washington and the Doctor of Musical Arts Degree in Vocal Performance from the University of Maryland at College Park. His teachers have included Julian Patrick, Carmen Pelton, Francois Loup, and Gran Wilson. Dr. Jennings enjoys a career that encompasses opera, oratorio, recital, and chamber works. On the operatic stage, performance highlights include over twenty lead and supporting roles comprised of early, standard and contemporary repertoire. Recent engagements include Orpheus in the Underworld with Opera Vivente and Regina with Long Leaf Opera. In the summer of 2009, he will add the role of Peter Quint in Britten's The Turn of the Screw to his growing repertoire. As a concert soloist, he has appeared in Bach's Magnificat, Handel's Messiah, Haydn's Lord Nelson Mass and Creation, Mozart's Coronation Mass, Schubert's Mass in G Major, The Seven Last Words of Christ by Dubois, The Christmas Oratorio by Saint-Saens, Kurt Weill's The Seven Deadly Sins, and most recently Puccini's Messa di Gloria with the Virginia Symphony Orchestra.

An accomplished recitalist, Kerry won the Debut Recital Tour Competition sponsored by the Ladies Musical Club of Seattle, which included his second appearance on 98.1 Classical King-FM's Live, By George!, as well as performances in many venues across the state of Washington. Dr. Jennings was also a District Winner and Regional Finalist in the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions.

A strong proponent of educational outreach, Kerry has performed for thousands of students throughout the United States with the touring organizations Northwest Opera In Schools Etcetera (NOISE) and Opera for Kids by FBN Productions.Dr. Jennings' students are regularly winners at the state and regional levels of theStudent Auditions sponsored by the National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS). They have also garnered praise for their work on stage in operatic and musical theater performances in summer programs and with professional companies. Dr. Jennings has taught at the University of Maryland, Frostburg State University, Towson University, and joined the music faculty at Old Dominion University in 2006, where he teaches Voice, Vocal Pedagogy, Vocal Literature and is the Director of Vocal Activities. He is an active member of the College Music Society, Opera America, and the National Association of Teachers of Singing.