Cliff Jackson

2004 Regional Judge

Assistant Professor
Vocal Coach

Cliff Jackson, native of Gary, Indiana, received his Bachelor of Music degree from Oberlin Conservatory of Music and pursued graduate studies at the Manhattan School of Music. Cited for his sensitive accompaniments and insightful musicianship, Mr. Jackson has been the pianist for many internationally renowned artists including Kathleen Battle, Renato Scotto, Simon Estes, Edda Moser, Felicia Weathers, and Gwendolyn Bradley. His skill as a collaborative artist has justly earned him a place on the stages of Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center, the Wierner Musikverein, the Teatro Colon, and the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden.

Mr. Jackson was awarded a coaching fellowship by the American Opera Center at The Julliard School, where he was a coach for two years. He was also the recipient of the Gramma Fisher Scholarship by the American Institute of Musical Studies in Graz, Austria.

Having studied with such highly esteemed pianists as Leon Bates, Frances Walker, Martin Katz, and Warren George Wilson, Mr. Jackson has been recognized as a leading pianist from among the pool of his peers. He has gained a wide reputation as an outstanding coach of vocal repertoire ranging in scope from Baroque through Twentieth-Century opera, in addition to a breadth of song literature encompassing the vastly divergent stylistic periods.

He has performed as a solo pianist for the Dance Theatre of Harlem, rendering critically acclaimed performances of Tchaikovsky's Third Piano Concerto and Hindemith's Four Temperaments. He has also acted as pianist, organist, and harsichordist while on musical staffs of Miami Opera, Tulsa Opera, and the Mobile Opera. He was also invited to serve as the head coach for the Central City Opera festival during 1995 and 1997, and as the coach and accompianist for the Chautauqua Opera Festival.

In 1992, Mr. Jackson joined the faculty of University of Kentucky's School of Music, where he is currently an Associate Professor serving as Vocal Coach for the University of Kentucky Opera Theatre and Voice Curriculum.

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