Justin T. Swain serves as an Assistant Professor of Instruction - Voice (Contemporary, Musical Theatre & Classical) & Lyric Diction, is the Coordinator of Musical Theater and Commercial Vocal Studies, and is a Faculty Fellow within the OHIO University Center for Teaching, Learning, and Assessment.
He is a graduate of The Ohio State University with a Master of Music in Vocal Performance and a Master of Arts in Vocal Pedagogy where he was awarded “Most Outstanding Graduate Associate,” and studied under both Dr. Scott McCoy (author of Your Voice: An Inside View) and Dr. Robin Rice (author of Great Teachers on Great Singing). Professor Swain teaches applied voice, Diction for Singers (German, French, Italian, English), and serves as the faculty advisor for the OU Dynamics acapella student organization.
A Columbus native, Swain has served as a teaching artist with Opera Columbus, been featured in the Columbus Italian Festival, in concert with Harmony Project Columbus, the New Albany Symphony Orchestra, Opera Project Columbus, and has performed several world premiere works in and around Central Ohio. Additionally, Swain has performed numerous times with Opera Columbus on the main stage (Davids/Ulysses in Vanqui, Interrogator/McCarthy in Fellow Travelers, and Baron Duophol in La Traviata), as a member of the company’s touring Education Outreach program, Opera On The Edge (Marcello in La Bohème), as a member of The Voice of Freedom touring performance group, in Twisted 3, a collaboration with BalletMet and the Columbus Symphony Orchestra (Pinellino in Gianni Schicchi), has performed the role of Maximilian (Candide) with The Ohio State University Lyric Opera Theatre, been featured with the Denison University Wind Ensemble performing Armando Bayolo’s Last Breaths, as a featured guest artist with the McConnell Arts Center Chamber Orchestra and the Linworth United Chorus. Recent engagements include performing as the Bass Soloist in the Mozart Coronation Mass with Cappriccio Columbus, a Gender Swap Cabaret at Donkey Coffee, featured in Opera Project Columbus’ I Too, Sing America: Part Two, and presented a faculty recital of music by the composer Samuel Coleridge-Tayloralongside collaborative pianist, Ed Bak. He has presented on Vocal Health & Hygiene, Performance Anxiety, Assessing Vocal Qualities, and Self-Marketing for Independent Teachers. Swain was most recently featured on 10TV WBNS in Columbus, OH in celebration of Black History Month, as well as in the culture section of Athens News.
Beyond his roots in classical voice, Swain is a versatile performer and teaching artist with extensive background in contemporary vocal pedagogy and works with clients in modern styles ranging from jazz, R&B, pop, musical theatre, folk, to rock both in Athens and Columbus, OH. Current research interests include the singing health of contemporary vocalists, the physiology and processes of vocal distortions, and contemporary music pedagogy in higher education.
Swain holds affiliations and memberships with the National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS), Music Teachers National Association (MTNA), Black Classical Music Educators (BCME), Ohio Music Educators Association (OMEA), the Royal Conservatory of Music Certificate Program (RCM), the Pan American Vocology Association (PAVA), Estill International, and the Pi Kappa Lambda National Music Honor Society Alpha Rho Chapter.
