Justin T. Swain serves as 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.Swain was selected as a 2024 National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS) Intern and is currently pursuing his Doctorate of Musical Arts in Vocal Pedagogy with a specialization in Voice Research at Shenandoah Conservatory. 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 studied voice under Dr. Scott McCoy, Dr. Robin Rice, and Dr. Errik Hood. Professor Swain teaches courses in applied voice, Diction for Singers (German, French, Italian, English), and serves as the faculty advisor for the NATS Student Chapter at OHIO, Dynamics and Tempo Tantrum acapella groups, and SoundScape, Ohio University’s first Show Choir student organization. 

A Columbus native, Swain has served as a teaching artist for Opera Columbus, and has performed extensively throughout the region including engagements with Opera Columbus, featured in the Columbus Italian Festival, in concert with Harmony Project Columbus, the New Albany Symphony Orchestra, Opera Project Columbus, Capriccio Chorus, and has performed several world premiere works in and around Central Ohio. Of the dozen roles Swain has performed, most notable among them include Maximilian in Leonard Bernstein’s Candide, McCarthy in Gregory Spears’ Fellow Travelers, Aedeta in the world premiere of Charles Wakefield Cadman’s Ramala: Land of Misty Water, Marcello in Puccini’s La Bohème, and Junius in Benjamin Britten’a Rape of Lucretia. Oratorio and chamber credits include Fauré’s Requiem, Mozart’s Requiem and Coronation Mass, the Schubert Mass in G, Bach’s Magnificat and other cantatas, Last Breaths by Armando Bayolo, and Of a Smile’s Echo by Thomas Wells, Swain was 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, confirmation bias in cross-over singers and teachers of singing, 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.  

Education

Specialties

Voice Pedagogy, Musical Theatre, Contemporary Commercial Music, Lyric Diction, Solo Vocal Repertoire of Samuel Coleridge-Taylor

Office / Teaching Studio 

Glidden Hall 381 

Artistic Portfolio 

www.justintswain.com

Member of the Vocal Wellness Program Advisory Committee

Vocal Wellness Program Website