J. Taylor Hightower
Assistant Professor of Voice
D.M., Indiana University
M.M., Indiana University
B.M., Furman University
E-mail: J.Hightower@usm.edu
J. Taylor Hightower, baritone, is an assistant professor of music at The University of Southern Mississippi, where he teaches applied voice, vocal literature, and opera workshop. Dr. Hightower, who is originally from Knoxville, Tenn., joined the Southern Miss faculty in 2004. During his graduate work at the world famous Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, Dr. Hightower studied voice primarily with Dr. James McDonald (who now teaches at The New England Conservatory of Music), but he also had the pleasure of coaching and studying voice with world-renowned bass Giorgio Tozzi, Distinguished Professor Timothy Noble, and Chancellor's Professor Costanza Cuccaro.
Most recently, Dr. Hightower made his Mississippi Opera debut as Dr. Grenvil in La Traviata. His numerous other major roles include Reverend Olin Blitch in Susannah, Balstrode in Peter Grimes, the title roles in Jeppe (as part of its American premiere), Don Pasquale, and Gianni Schicchi, Tolomeo in Giulio Cesare, Dr. Dulcamara in L'Eliser D'amore, and Captain von Trapp in The Sound of Music. As a concert soloist, Dr. Hightower has performed Handel's Messiah, Brahm 's Ein Deutsches Requiem, Faure's Requiem, Durufle's Requiem as well as Bach's Weihnachts Oratorium, St. Matthew Passion, and Magnificat.