ROBERT JONES directs University Chorale at the University of Dayton. This ensemble has enjoyed collaborations with professional ensembles in recent years. Chorale performed Johannes Brahms’ Requiem with the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra and Chorus in 1999 and presented Benjamin Britten’s War Requiem in 2002. Chorale has also concertized abroad in the last three years, singing in many of the revered institutions of Christendom. Chorale initially toured Europe in May 1999. Concerts were presented at St. Giles (Scotland), St. Paul’s (London) and Notre Dame Cathedral (Paris). In 2001, Chorale sang at St. Vitus Cathedral (Prague, Czech Republic), St. Stephen’s Cathedral and Votivkirke(Vienna) St. Franziskanekirche (Salzburg), St. Florian’s Abbey (burial site of composer Anton Bruckner), S. Giovanni e Paolo (Venice) and the Pantheon (Rome). In 2005, the ensemble performed in Hungary (Budapest), Slovakia (Banska Bystrika), Poland (Krakow), and Germany (Leipzig and Berlin). Dr. Jones’ other duties include teaching vocal music education and conducting courses at the undergraduate and graduate levels. He also supervises vocal music student teachers and conducts Choral Union, a non-auditioned choral ensemble.

Including his public school experience, Dr. Jones has served as an adjudicator, guest conductor, clinician , and soloist in the East and Midwest regions. He has appeared with the Dayton Bach Society where he performed the role of Jesus in Bach’s St. Matthew Passion, a role he also sang with the Choral Union of the University of Ohio in 1998. With the Miami (FL) Bach Society he sang the bass solos in performances of Heinrich Schutz’ Requiem.

Dr. Jones is also artistic director of MUSICA!, a professional choral ensemble known throughout the Miami Valley for its performance excellence. Its musical repertoire ranges from seasonal selections, to partsongs and sacred literature from all musical eras, to vocal jazz and spirituals. MUSICA!’s first CD, GREAT DAY, was released in 2001. Their second CD, REFLECTIONS ON SPIRITUALS, was released in October 2005, through funds provided by the Montgomery County Arts & Culture District. The ensemble has performed for the Ohio Choral Directors Conference and the Ohio Music Education Conference.

Dr. Jones’ articles and music reviews have appeared in School, Musician,and Director, the American Choral Directors Journal, the Catholic Music Educator, the Chorus America Newsletter, the Ohio Choral Directors Association Newsletter, Chorus,the Indiana Music Educator, the National Federation of State High School Association Jounal and TRIAD, the publication of the Ohio Music Educators Conference. Dr. Jones has presented sessions on the Mature Voice at the 2001 National Association of Teachers of Singing Midwest Summer Conference and at the 2001 Ohio Choral Directors Summer Conference. He co—presented “Communication: The Key to Success in Vocal Performance” at the 2003 Ohio Muisc Educators Conference in Cleveland. In 2004, Dr. Jones conducted University Chorale in a concert performance at OMEA Columbus and presented a clinic entitled “Choosing, Analyzing and Interpreting Texts of Choral Compositions.” In 2005, he will present "A Virtual Choral Classroom Handbook: Educational, Economic and Effective" at OMEA Cincinnati. Additionally, he has published arrangements and compositions and was employed as a choral editor for Plymouth Music Company in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida.

Dr. Jones completed his M.M. in Vocal Performance at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill and his DMA in Choral Conducting at the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida. He is a member of Pi Kappa Lambda, Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia, the Music Educators National Conference, a past officer and member of the Ohio Choral Directors Association, and a life member of the American Choral Directors Association. He was named to Who’s Who Among America’s Teachers, 2000.