Linda June Snyder, soprano, is Professor of Voice at the University of Dayton and recently completed a term as Associate Dean for the Humanities and Fine Arts in the College of Arts and Sciences. Coming to UD in 1989, she served as Chair of the Department of Music through 1995. Ms. Snyder has sung in recital, oratorio, and opera/musical theatre throughout much of the United States, as well as France, Luxembourg, Germany, and Austria. New York concerts have included solo performances in Merkin Concert Hall, the Carnegie (Weill) Recital Hall, and at La Maison Française. An active chamber musician, she sings with The Cantecor Trio (music for soprano, horn, and piano) whose first CD, Nocturnes: 20th Century Music for Voice, Horn, and Piano, was released in 1998. She has performed roles with the Dayton Opera Association, Opera Omaha, Colorado Music-Theatre, Illinois Opera Theatre, among others. In 2002 she released a second CD, Praise and Joy: Sacred Song Favorites, with pianist John Benjamin. Her students participate regularly in NATS student auditions. Many of her voice and opera/musical theatre students have gone on to perform on Broadway and in professional opera, and to music careers in both secondary and higher education, music therapy, and arts management.
Prior to coming to UD, she served as Associate Professor of Voice and Director of Vocal Studies at New York University. Dr. Snyder has also taught on the faculties of Midland Lutheran College, the National Music Camp at Interlochen (Michigan), and for eleven years was Director of Opera at Illinois Wesleyan University. A native of Dayton, Dr. Snyder holds the masters and doctoral degrees in vocal performance from the University of Illinois and a B.M. in Music Education from Miami University. Her teachers have included Frances Crawford, John Wustman, David Lloyd, Eric Dalheim, Ellen Faull, and George Barron. She has served on the Board of Directors of the National Association of Teachers of Singing, as an accreditation consultant for the National Association of Schools of Music, and on the Board of Directors of the National Opera Association. In 2000 Dr. Snyder received the UD College of Arts and Sciences Award for Outstanding Services.
In 1997, Dr. Snyder coordinated Schubert Fest '97, a series of ten concerts, lectures and master classes in celebration of the 200th anniversary of the birth of the composer. The project received a $10,000 grant from Miami Valley Culture Works. Her other research and performance interests include musical theatre and music by women composers. Having directed or conducted over 40 operas and musicals, she frequently gives workshops on improvisation exercises for singer-actors, and master classes and lecture-recitals on musical theatre repertoire, diction, and women composers on Broadway. She has given clinics and workshops for standing-room only audiences for MENC, NATS, NOA, OMEA, and the International Festival of Women Composers. In early summer she serves as co-director of Encore Vienna, an international educational program open to the public.