Our Faculty

Jason Hiester holds a Doctor of Musical Arts in Voice and Conducting from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. Dr. Hiester, a tenor, performs on both sides of the baton, having begun his career on the stage before moving into the pit.  His professional singing credits include roles with the West Palm Beach Opera, Utah Festival Opera, Opera Columbus, Columbus Symphony Orchestra, ProMusica Chamber Orchestra, and the Florida Grand Opera and concert work with the Miami Bach Society, Musica Sacra of Cincinnati, Northern Kentucky Symphony, Columbus Bach Ensemble, Columbus Dance Theater, Central Ohio Symphony Orchestra, and Vocal Arts Ensemble of Cincinnati.  He was a winner of both the Schloss Leopoldskron competition in Salzburg, Austria, and the West Palm Beach Opera Competition.
 
As a conductor, Dr. Hiester is well-versed in numerous genres, impressing audiences and musicians alike with the excellence he demands both from choirs and orchestras and generating vibrant performances with all levels of musicians. He is an Associate Professor of Music at Ohio Wesleyan University, where he is head of the choral department and Musical Director of the opera program, contributing his inventive musical ideas, which often include multi-discipline artistic productions.  Combining the forms of dance, opera, choir, visual art, and poetry is a passion of his, and Dr. Hiester takes every opportunity to produce new and innovative works of this kind through collaborations with professionals across Ohio.
 
As a member of the musical staff of Opera Columbus, Dr. Hiester serves as Associate Conductor and Chorus Master.