Dr. Jim Stanard - Chorale Director & Conductor
Chorale Director & Conductor
jestanard@bresnan.net
Born and raised in Great Falls, Montana, James Stanard received an undergraduate degree in music from Brigham Young University and a masters degree in music from Montana State University. Following that, he studied and taught at the University of Oregon where he received his doctorate. He also attended the Music Academy of the West, studying under famed French baritone, Martial Singher.
Dr. Stanard is a music professor emeritus from Humboldt State University in Arcata, California, retiring in 2006. During his 34-year tenure, his teaching assignments included class and studio voice, opera workshop, composition, music theory, and musicianship. His former voice students have sung at major opera houses including La Scala, The Metropolitan Opera Company, The New York City Opera Company, and The San Francisco Opera Company as well as on Broadway and on concert stages including Carnegie Hall. He currently teaches private voice lessons in Kalispell.
James Stanard co-founded the Eureka, California-based Humboldt Light Opera Company. For more than 20 years he served as artistic director and oversaw numerous presentations of musicals, operas, and oratorios including 25 annual productions of Handel’s Messiah.
As a young man, James toured South America for nine months as first tenor and music arranger in a male vocal quartet. The ensemble gave more than 120 performances during that period in many major cities as well as in remote areas of Peru, Bolivia, and Chile.
For many years James was active as a tenor soloist in recitals, operas, musicals and oratorios. He was tenor soloist in the Eugene, Oregon Bach Festival under the direction of famed choral conductor, Helmut Rilling. He performed in the US premiere of Britten’s Death in Venice with the San Francisco Opera Company. In 1988 he sang the role of Dimitri in Moussorgsky’s epic masterpiece, Boris Godunov, with Metropolitan Opera star Jerome Hines in the title role.
Dr. Stanard has served an adjudicator at numerous vocal and choral festivals including the Metropolitan Opera district auditions, the Etude Competition and the regional National Association of Teachers of Singing Competition.
James is a published composer and has won awards in composition contests including an award of merit in the Ensign International Sacred Music Composition. His winning choral composition was sung on Temple Square in Salt Lake City as the finale of the awards ceremony. He was commissioned by Humboldt State University to write a full-length choral/orchestral composition, Fallen Heroes, which premiered in California in the fall of 2007 and was performed the following year by the GSC.
Dr. Stanard has received several awards in the arts including one from the Humboldt Arts Council in California. At Humboldt State University, he was given a Meritorious Service Award for outstanding teaching. He was awarded a Certificate of Special Recognition from the United States Congress for “his leadership and dedication in maintaining the highest standard of excellence in the performing arts.”
