JEFFERY RONDOTSKY MCGHEE, baritone, is Professor of Voice at Roberts Wesleyan College. He received the Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison where his final DMA research project was entitled, IN PURSUIT OF CONNECTEDNESS: A Learning Guide for Young Singers and Those Who Teach Them. While at the University of Wisconsin- Madison, Jeffery performed the roles of Alidoro in Rossini’s La Cenerentola, the poet in Salieri’s First the Music, Then the Words, the Baron in Verdi’s La Traviata, the Leader in Kurt Weill’s Lost in the Stars, and El Gallo in The Fantasticks.
He received the Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Southern Mississippi and his Master of Music degree in vocal performance from the University of Akron. At Akron, Jeffery performed as Sid in Albert Herring by Benjamin Britten, Matt in The Fantasticks, and the poet in Kismet. He was also soloist with the Akron Symphony Chorus in performances of the Fauré Requiem.
In a season with Opera for the Young, Jeffery portrayed the role of Belcore in Donizetti’s The Elixir of Love. With the Ohio Light Opera company, he has also performed the roles of the Pirate King in The Pirates of Penzance, and the Counsel in Trial by Jury, both by Gilbert and Sullivan. In 2009, Dr. McGhee was the featured soloist with the Rochester Oratorio Society in their concert, Partners in Freedom: Lincoln and Douglass, which also featured The Morgan State University Choir and the Bach Children’s Chorus.
Dr. McGhee is currently recording a CD of hymns, spirituals, and spiritual songs, accompanied by Roberts faculty member Dr. Michael Landrum.