Keith Jameson has had many important roles in his life as a world-renowned tenor. Yet, he’s most excited about the role that begins when students arrive at Lander University in the days ahead.
Jameson has been named the director of choral activities at Lander, where he will be the conductor for the University Singers and Old Main Singers.
“I’m looking forward to being at Lander,” said Jameson, who grew up in Greenwood before beginning a career that took him to countries throughout the world as a professional opera and concert singer. “This is a different kind of role for me, but it’s one that I’m very excited about.”
After earning a bachelor’s degree in vocal performance from Furman University, Jameson continued his education and earned his master’s degree in conducting and completed coursework toward his doctoral degree in vocal performance from the prestigious Eastman School of Music.
His love for music began early in Greenwood, where he was in the youth choir at First Baptist Church and then the adult choir as a high school student. Jameson sang in a contemporary gospel group in high school and performed in musicals at Greenwood High School and Greenwood Community Theatre. Throughout college and graduate school, he continued to sing in church choirs, as well as college choirs and chamber groups.
Over a 30-year performing career, Jameson sang over 14 seasons with the Metropolitan Opera in New York City, opportunities and roles that opened to him after two summers in the Santa Fe Opera Apprentice Program and six seasons at New York City Opera. Jameson also performed with groups including the New York Philharmonic, Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl, Phoenix Symphony, Berkshire Bach Society at Tanglewood Music Center, Seattle Opera, San Francisco Opera, Houston Grand Opera and Lyric Opera of Chicago. He was a featured performer at the Carmel Bach Festival, Brevard Music Center and Carnegie Hall, and performed and made recordings with Boston Baroque. He is featured on DVD recordings from the Metropolitan Opera, Dallas Opera and Atlanta Opera.
The list of Jameson’s performances and credits are numerous, and he has appeared in productions internationally in many countries, including England, Italy, Belgium, Spain, Brazil and Japan. “During those years, it was exciting to live in New York City and to be able to soak up the culture,” he said. “I loved the opportunity to travel nationally and internationally. I’m grateful for all my experiences.”
No matter where his adventures took him, Jameson always was passionate about South Carolina. He created the Greenwood Music Festival in 2007 and served as the founder and director of the event, which featured opera productions, vocal recitals and cabaret selections until the festival had its final run in 2012.
Passionate about sharing his love for live opera with children, Jameson wrote a children's opera, Petunia, based on the book by Roger Duvoisin. The opera had its premiere with FBN Productions Opera for Kids! in Aiken in January 2014.
In an interview with Seattle Opera, Jameson said, “Children are our future audiences. We must do more to educate children (and for that matter, the broader public) on the joys of opera and classical music. As more and more funding is being cut from our schools, it is up to us, the artists, and the opera companies, to take opera to the public.”
Jameson is looking ahead to his life in Greenwood, where he now owns a home and has enjoyed having a vegetable garden – a long-time dream not possible when he was living in New York. He is the musical director at First Baptist Church in Greenwood and wants to be involved in community-based music collaborations for the public.
At Lander, Jameson will be educating a new generation of music lovers. “I hope that I will be able to share some of what I have experienced with younger singers and performers. I’ll admit I’m a bit nervous about the new semester, but I also am very excited and thrilled to share my ideas.”
When a long-time friend, Lisa Smith, welcomed him back to Greenwood, she told him, “You have to bloom where you’re planted.”
The advice became his mantra. “I’m going to bloom where I am,” Jameson said.