Biography
Dr. Madeline Harts is a voice teacher and coach, vocologist, singer, collaborative pianist, and arts executive. She is currently a Lecturer of Voice at the Schwob School of Music at Columbus State University in Columbus, GA. A strong advocate for the advancement and outreach of musical arts, she has an equal passion for vocal and choral pedagogy, performance, and voice habilitation.
As an educator, Dr. Harts has held positions at SUNY Fredonia School of Music, Niagara University, the University at Buffalo (SUNY), and as a voice teacher at the University of Miami Frost School of Music, Miami Conservatory of Music, Bowling Green State University and the BGSU Summer Vocal Arts Academy. Research interests include the work and advocation for women composers and vocal pedagogues, preservation and dissemination of Interfaith Art Song Literature, and voice studio singer-habilitation. She was awarded a 2020 Presser Foundation Music Grant to conduct research and record the art songs of women composers Liza Lehmann and Clara Kathleen Rogers at the Harvard University Houghton Archives and British Library. Dr. Harts was selected to present on these findings at the 2022 National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS) Conference in Chicago, IL and the 2022 Sam Houston State University (SHSU) Art Song Festival. She continues to present vocal masterclasses and workshops at universities nationally.
Praised for her "freely produced top and dark midrange" that "takes avian flight" by South Florida Classical Review, Dr. Harts sings repertoire spanning the canon of classical music and musical theatre; from Handel to contemporary works. She was an artist for the John Duffy Institute of New Opera, hosted by American composer Libby Larsen, where she workshopped roles for new operatic works. Her workshop premieres also include Christopher Cerrone's In a Grove (harp/piano) and Leanna Kirchoff's Friday After Friday (soprano). She was also a winner of the Patti and Alan Herbert Frost School of Music's Mirabelle Competition in Salzburg, Austria where she presented a recital during the annual Salzburgfestspiele, featuring music of American Musical Theatre.
Dr. Harts is an alumnus of the Resident Artist Program for the Toledo Opera Company, both as a soprano and pianist. Productions include Der Schauspieldirektor (Madame Herz), The Light in the Piazza (Margaret Johnson), The Pirates of Penzance (Mabel), The Music Man (Marian), Die Fledermaus (Adele), Werther (Sophie), Aïda, Roméo et Juliette, and Lucia di Lammermoor, among others.
Previously, Dr. Harts was the inaugural Executive Director of the Grammy® Award winning Buffalo Philharmonic Chorus and taught music on faculty at the Buffalo Seminary, a private, college preparatory day and boarding school for girls in Buffalo, NY.
Prior to administrative promotion, Dr. Harts was the Associate Director of Development and Administration for the Buffalo Philharmonic Chorus. Her background as an administrator, educator, and singer, combined with specialization in choral and vocal music, lends to a comprehensive understanding of arts organizations and their role in our society. Dr. Harts was previously the Director of Community Engagement and Assistant Director of Arts Education, as well as a Teaching Resident Artist and Children's Choir Director for the Toledo Opera Company in Toledo, OH.
Dr. Harts is a doctoral graduate of the University of Miami Frost School of Music in Vocal Pedagogy and Performance (DMA) and holds degrees in Voice Performance from Bowling Green State University (MM) and Voice Performance and Music Education from Ithaca College (BM); she also studied historical musicology at the University at Buffalo (PhD). She is a standing member of the National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS), National Association for Music Education (NAfME), Erie County Music Educators Association (EMCEA), and the Pan American Vocology Association (PAVA).
"An agitated keyboard and ensemble prelude sets up the soaring vocal lines... aptly rendered by soprano Madeline Harts, her high register taking avian flight.
Harts’ freely produced top and dark midrange brought weight and agility to [Melinda] Wagner’s beautiful vocal writing."
- South Florida Classical Review
Academic & Administrative Positions
Spring 2022
2021-2022
2018-2021
2016-2018
Lecturer
Courses taught: Applied Voice, Vocal Techniques I (Class Voice for Freshmen BFA)
Buffalo Philharmonic Chorus
Associate Director of Development and Administration
Development and cultivation of individual donors and foundational and governmental grants. Grant writing and administrative tasks.
SUNY at Fredonia
Lecturer
Courses taught: Applied Voice, Class Voice (Music Education Instrumentalists)
University of Miami Frost School of Music
Graduate Teaching Assistant
Courses taught: Applied Voice, Class Voice (Non-Majors), English and Italian Lyric Diction for Singers, Studio Class, German and French Lyric Diction for Singers (TA), Opera Workshop (TA)
University at Buffalo (SUNY)
Spring 2022
Niagara University
2022
Buffalo Philharmonic Chorus
2022
Buffalo Seminary
Executive Director
Music Teacher
Fall 2022
University at Buffalo Center for Theatre Arts
Instructor
Courses taught: Applied Voice for Music Theatre majors
2024
Schwob School of Music
Columbus State University
Lecturer of Voice
Instructor
Courses taught: Applied Voice, Vocal Pedagogy (Undergrad/Graduate), Understanding Music, UB Capstone Curriculum
2012-2014
Toledo Opera Company
Director of Community Engagement & Assistant Director of Arts Administration
Courses Taught
Applied Voice Lessons
Studio Voice
Vocal Pedagogy
Class Voice for Non-Majors
Class Voice (Music Education Instrumentalists)
Class Voice (Theater BFA)
History of Music
Women in Music
Music in Film
English and Italian Diction for Singers
Understanding Music
UB Capstone Curriculum
German and French Diction for Singers (TA)
Opera Workshop (TA)
Musical Theater Workshop
Composition & Songwriting
Music Theory 101
Education
2018-2021
University of Miami
Frost School of Music
2017
Shenandoah Conservatory
2012-2014
Bowling Green
State University
2007-2011
Ithaca College
D.M.A. Vocal Pedagogy and Performance
Dissertation: Rediscovering the Pedagogies of Liza Lehmann and Clara Kathleen Rogers
Graduate Teaching Assistant. Course work specialization in vocal function, anatomy/physiology, voice disorders, and vocal pedagogy. Opera, chamber, and art song performance.
The New CCM Vocal Pedagogy Institute
Credits for certification in CCM vocal pedagogy techniques under direction of Shenandoah Conservatory faculty Matt Edwards, Kathryn Green, and Marci Rosenberg.
M.M. Vocal Performance
Graduate Teaching Assistant. Course work in vocal performance for classical and contemporary styles. Emphasis on exploration of forgotten music and opera.
B.M. Music Education and Voice Performance