Raymond Feener is currently an Assistant Professor of Voice at the University of Missouri Kansas City where he teaches applied voice. He was recently at Ohio University where he taught applied voice, Opera Workshop, and directed the Singing Men of Ohio. He received his Bachelors degree in Choral Education and Masters degree in Vocal Performance from Ohio University. He recently received his doctoral degree from the Florida State University School of Music in Vocal Performance/Opera Emphasis. While attending FSU, he was awarded the Gallagher Memorial Award for outstanding performance and academic achievement.

Over the past ten years he has been pursuing both a teaching and performance career. He has appeared professionally with the Dorian Opera Theatre, Sarasota Opera Company, Lake George Opera Festival, Columbus Light Opera, the Lancaster Festival, and Theatre Lancaster. Dr. Feener also performed with the Opera Theatre of Lucca, in Lucca, Italy in 1998. He has also appeared as a soloist with the Ocean City Pops Orchestra in New Jersey, the Lancaster Chorale in Lancaster, Ohio, the Mansfield Symphony Youth Orchestra, and in Macon, Georgia performing both the Duraflé and Fauré Requiem solos. In 2003 his engagements included Schubert’s Mass in G, the Brahms Requiem, Ralph Vaughan William’s Five Mystical Songs, as well as the role of Ping in Puccini’s Turandot at the Lancaster Festival in Lancaster, Ohio. Dr. Feener recently performed the role of Strephon in the Opera Columbus production of Iolanthe. In 2005 he will be performing the role of Benedict Arnold in Julian Livingston’s Twist of Treason.

A sample of Dr. Feener’ s roles include: Malatesta in Don Pasquale, Figaro in Il barbiere di Siviglia, Yamadori in Madama Butterfly, Giuseppe in The Gondoliers, Captain Corcoran in H.M.S. Pinafore, Strephon in Iolanthe, A Man with a Shoe Sample Kit in Postcard from Morocco, Papageno in The Magic Flute, the title role in Gianni Schicchi, Baron Zeta in The Merry Widow, Martin in A Grand Night for Singing, Marcello in La bohéme, Baron Duphol in La traviata and the title role in Gazzaniga’s Don Giovanni.

Dr. Feener recently served on faculty at the American Institute of Musical Study in Graz, Austria. He was the stage director for the AIMS Festival Orchestra Concerts of scenes from Fidelio and Carmen throughout Austria, as well as concerts featuring Spanish art song. Dr. Feener was recently accepted into and completed the 2003 NATS Internship in Fredonia, New York, where he had the opportunity to work with several Master Teachers including Jerrold Pope and Judith Nicosia. He is also serving a 3-year term on the board of the NATS Buckeye Division. This summer he will be performing the role of Strephon in Gilbert and Sullivan’s Iolanthe with the Columbus Opera.

Dr. Feener has also had the opportunity to perform on masterclasses with Marilyn Horne, Phyllis Curtin and Craig Rutenburg as well as coachings with Stanford Olson and Lorenzo Malfatti.