James Shrader

Dr. James Shrader is Professor of Music and Head of the Department of Music at Valdosta State University.  He has combined careers as a composer, administrator, conductor, stage director, and operatic tenor.

From 1995-2006, Dr. Shrader was a member of the music faculty at Northwestern Oklahoma State University in Alva, Oklahoma.  A tenured Professor of Music, he served as Chair of the Department of Music and Director of Choral studies.  In 1994, he was a Visiting Assistant Professor of Music Education and Associate Director of Choral Activities at Oklahoma State University in Stillwater.  From 1990-1994, Dr. Shrader served on the faculty of Texas Tech University, Lubbock Texas, where he was a member of the voice faculty as well as Associate Director of Choral Activities.

He holds the Doctor of Philosophy degree in Fine Arts from Texas Tech where his dissertation was entitled The Choruses in Mozart’s Opere Serie: Practical Performance Possibilities.  Dr. Shrader received the Bachelor of Music Education degree from Bradley University, Peoria, Illinois, and the Master of Music degree from the Cleveland Institute of Music and Case Western reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio.  Further studies have included the Cambridge Choral Seminar at Clare College, Cambridge, England.  For 13 years, Dr. Shrader was Director of Music and Fine Arts at the First Baptist Church of Greater Cleveland (ABCUSA).

He is the former chorus master for Tulsa Opera where he prepared nine productions for live performances and rebroadcasts on National Public Radio stations.  He has also conducted performances in Great Britain at Canterbury and Ely Cathedrals; Dunfirmline Abbey, Scotland; Holy Innocents Church, Manchester; and in London at St. Martin’s in the Field, Wesley Chapel, All Souls Church, and Bloomsbury Central Baptist Church; as well as concerts in France, Switzerland, Austria, Germany, and St. Mark’s Cathedral in Venice, Italy.

Dr. Shrader is a member of the National Association of Schools of Music, the College Music Society, the American Choral Director’s Association, the Music Educator’s National Conference, Pi Kappa Lambda, and Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia.