Teacher

https://www.alignable.com/groups/florham-park-nj/8631350-1682441062

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Kendrick Jacocks sang professionally since the age of 19, starting with Nelson in Porgy and Bess at Opera Memphis where he remained that season ending with Faust, and with a major role offer that year from Rome Opera Festival as Ferrando. A major symphonic appearance with CUSO in Carmina Burana, preceded by some high Cs in The Desert Song’s Sid El Kar in Memphis, was broadcast on Illinois FM 91 radio 1994: “Kendrick Jacocks sang his …role with theatrics and fine voice.” News Gazette. This performance was followed immediately by Scaramuccio in Ariadne Auf Naxos with Ian Hobson’s Sinfonia da Camera by Richard Strauss in the great hall at Krannert Center for the Performing Arts, and offers from The Lyric Opera of Chicago (1995; chorus Die Walkure, and 2001 as soloist). After graduation in 1996 (‘cum laude’/3.3, at UIUC), he traveled to Berlin, Germany, and later served as voice and opera director at Chattanooga State, and the year/season following entered New York City Opera in the Grammy Award nominated ‘The Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess’ ensemble (Nelson; Crab Man); broadcast “Live from Lincoln Center” and a full season there. The season following Kendrick toured with Peter Klein’s Porgy and Bess as ensemble, Nelson, Crab Man, Sportin’ Life, Robbins, and Mingo encompassing much of the United States with appearances in Canada’s British Columbia and Vancouver, and in Mexico City at Teatro Ciudad de Mexico. Further tours commenced as Verdi (and Puccini) tenor (primo tenore) with Concerlirica (Spain) with the ensembles of state and national theaters of Poland (Poznan) and Ukraine, Kiev Opera, Lviv (Lvov), and Donetsk State Academic Opera and Ballet where he was invited as a guest artist for his Otello, which he sang on tour in Spain’s Costa del Sol (Andalusia); debut: Don Rodrigo, complete repertoire: Otello, Radames/Aida, Manrico/Il Trovatore, Ismaele/Nabucco, and Calaf/Turandot, (and was asked to study at Barcelona’s Liceu in 2006). Otello in Strangers followed in Berlin’s Hebbel am Ufer with a recital at Konzerthaus Berlin entitled: “Kendrick Jacocks and Friends.” He concertized for Connecticut Grand Opera in 2002 at the mayor’s mansion in Stamford, CT. Kendrick commenced repertoire studies and technique at the Vienna State Opera in 2015/16 (Wiener Staatsoper), and has sustained many inquiries since.

He graduated (‘summa/3.8’) in Voice Pedagogy/Performance from the University of North Dakota at Grand Forks, where he worked with the Department of Communication Disorders in Speech and Hearing Science, and studied with Ingo Titze (Voice Science) enrolled at University of Utah, matriculated University of Iowa, and registered at SVI.

At Stella Adler Acting Studio in New York, he studied Acting on Camera with Ron Burrus, and appeared as a voice over actor for the ‘Voice of Colin Powell’ in Ahmed Boulane’s La Isla de Perejil on behalf of the Moroccan (National) Cinema.

Kendrick taught voice at Mason Gross School of the Arts in New Brunswick, NJ and governed Lyric Theater Productions, and at Chattanooga High School for the Creative and Performing Arts where he directed an abridged full production of Pagliacci by Ruggiero Leoncavallo. His students appear in opera, on Broadway, and in television and movies.

Moving forward in his career, upon returning from Vienna in 2017 one of the members from Florentine Opera’s Board of Directors, Rachel Thout invited Kendrick Jacocks to apply for it’s General Director/CEO position upon reviewing his resume. Among opera companies inviting him to sing/audition for specific parts include Delaware Opera (Mario Cavaradossi), Prague State Opera (Otello, Verdi Festival), and again Chicago Lyric Opera.

TEACHING

Voice Education is central to vocal pedagogy and is related to performance practices of professional teaching. Mr. Jacocks’ pro teachers and their affiliations were Mignon Dunn and Roberta Knie in teaching Richard Wagner, Maestro Willie Waters, Maestro Joseph Rescigno, Virginia Zeani, and Maestro Vasylenko were significant in learning bel canto styles. In pedagogy and vocology, Ingo Titze and Robert Olson. Classic Italian style came in Nicolas di Virgilio (also education tours), and the diaphragmatic approach of Arturo Callegari. Choral literature and musicianship began in high school with Lulah Hedgeman, and through her, Gospel music with Grammy winner O’landa Draper, and finally in gospel, the Grammy winner Myrna Summers. In Jazz Performance, he studied and performed with Joe D’Gerolamo (UM), who worked with Elvis Presley. Lessons include a private lesson with Martina Arroyo, and there are a host of other directors and teachers along the way related to performance practices met in the career in the great opera theaters, universities and schools, performance halls, private studios, honors choirs, and at large like Ethel Maxwell, one of the last exponents of the teaching style of her teacher Estelle Liebling, who was the student of Mathilde Marchesi. Along the way he met members of the Wagner family in Berlin and Vienna who traveled to meet and/or hear him sing, and was invited by Carlo Bergonzi to study at I Due Foscari in Busseto, Italy (2004).

In dramatic writing (libretto) Kendrick Jacocks commenced work with Academy Award winner (Oscar) Barry Morrow who contributed to his small opera ensemble organization, Lyric Theater Productions.