Russell Watkins is the director of the vocal department at Savannah Arts Academy in Savannah, Georgia.

He holds a Bachelor of Music degree from Angelo State University, San Angelo, Texas, and a Master of Music degree from Georgia Southern University, Statesboro, Georgia.

After many years of singing operatic roles and ensembles, Watkins has followed a desire to teach and conduct choral music. Having taught at all levels, from kindergarten to graduate school, Mr. Watkins has developed a passion for teaching high school students. Currently in his seventh year teaching high school, he is very pleased to be working with some of the most talented singers in the state of Georgia.

After serving three years as an adjunct faculty member at Georgia College & State University, Mr. Watkins brings to his students a technical approach to singing, teaching a strong yet flexible technique with emphasis on resonance and placement in order to discover the natural voice.

Through a steady selection of difficult repertoire, the Savannah Arts Academy choirs have shown their resilience and determination to be a top choir in the state.

 

Jared Register joined the music faculty of Savannah Arts Academy as a choral director in the 2017/2018 season. His conducting experience includes public school, community musical theater, church music, and opera where his students received superior ratings at performance evaluations and juried invitation to honor choirs hosted by Georgia Music Educators Association and ACDA.

Register recently completed coursework for the Doctor of Musical Arts degree in choral music education & conducting from The University of Georgia and holds the Master of Music degree in conducting from Georgia Southern University. As a teaching assistant and instructor at UGA, he taught courses and seminars in secondary choral education and voice. He also served as a conductor of Repertory Singers, which functioned as a laboratory choir for graduate conductors. While a student at the Hodgson School of Music, Register has received several teaching awards including the Simmons Choral Fellowship in Choral Education, E. Pierce Arant, Jr. Scholarship in Choral Music, Outstanding Graduate Teaching Assistant award, and the Hodgson School Director’s Excellence award. 

Register’s choral performance experience includes Carnegie Hall, convention performances of ACDA, and many major performance venues throughout Europe. During the spring semester of 2016, he also performed on the UGA’s Hodgson Singers’ first professional recorded album, Grace Immaculate, now available on Spotify.