The Rogue Valley Chorale Association is proud to announce our new Music Director for the Rogue Valley Chorale, Dr. Jerron Jorgensen. We are excited to welcome him as we embark on our 50th Anniversary Season. Please stay tuned for date announcements for our 2022/2023 season.
Hailed as a conductor for his “warm, invigorating, and beautifully paced” (Peter Tiboris) as well as “passionate and uplifting” (Adolphus Hailstork) conducting, Dr. Jerron Jorgensen possesses a résumé of diverse musical experiences with professional work as a conductor, soloist, chorister, teacher, and arranger. At present, Dr. Jorgensen serves as Director of Choral/Vocal Studies at Southern Oregon University and Music Director of the Rogue Valley Chorale. Previously, he served as Director of Choral Activities at Coker University and Music Director at St. Bartholomew’s Episcopal Church in Hartsville, South Carolina.
Under his direction, The Coker Singers were invited to perform at the South Carolina ACDA conference, completed a professional recording project, and were named national semi-finalists in The American Prize in the collegiate choruses division. Dr. Jorgensen specializes in 20th and 21st-century works and is active as both an operatic and choral conductor. He recently conducted the world premiere of The Cure at Troy (Evan Mack) at Carnegie Hall, as well as the premiere of Half the World by Dale Trumbore and the SATB premiere of Seven Last Words of the Unarmed by Joel Thompson. Contemporary operata highlights include The Ghosts of Gatsby and Lucinda y las Flores de la Nochebuena (Evan Mack & Joshua McGuire) at Coker University; Amahl and the Night Visitors (Menotti) at The Hartt School; and the premieres of Verlorene Heimat(Dawn Sonntag) and The Stranger the Better (Liam Wade) with Hartford Opera Theater.
Dr. Jorgensen has worked as a performer with opera companies, orchestras, and choruses in both the United States and abroad. As a chorister, he has performed with numerous professional choirs, including the GRAMMY®-nominated ensembles True Concord Voices & Orchestra in Tuscon, AZ, and the Taylor Festival Choir in Charleston, SC. Professional work as a soloist includes performances with Hartford Opera Theater, Hartford Independent Chamber Orchestra, Con Brio Choral Society, Torrington Symphony Orchestra, Rhode Island Civic Chorale & Orchestra, Soli Deo Gloria Orchestra, New Haven Oratorio Choir, Hartt Wind Ensemble, New Haven Chorale, and Madison Lyric Stage, MusicaNova, Scottsdale Musical Arts, Heartland Opera, and Brookings Chamber Music Society.
As an academic, Dr. Jorgensen regularly visits high schools to provide in-class clinics, serves as guest conductor for regional honors festivals, and frequently presents on developing and implementing educational scaffolding techniques in music programs at professional conferences for organizations such as ACDA, NCCO, MTNA, and NOA.
Dr. Jorgensen has also worked to build a number of programs in the arts. Jerron is co-founder and Artistic Coordinator of the Blueprint Project, a new initiative to support opera composers and librettists in the compositional process from conception to premiere. While Music Director at First Church, he founded the Barbara Crouse Memorial Concert series and co-founded IN MEDIAS ARTS, an artist collaborative focused on the development and performance of new multidisciplinary works.
Dr. Jorgensen holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Voice Performance from The Hartt School, University of Hartford; a Master of Music in Voice Performance from Arizona State University; and a Bachelor of Arts in Voice from South Dakota State University.
We will be holding auditions on Monday, August 15th. If you are interested in joining the RVC family please email office@roguevalleychorale.org for times and more audition information.