T.J. Turner

Dr. T. J. Turner, tenor, was named one of Memphis’s Top 20 Under 35 of 2023. He received positive reviews of his “solid performances” in his professional debut as The Doctor in The Handmaid’s Tale with GLOW Lyric Theatre: Opera Wire described his “crystalline high tenor” as “a delight to listen to.”

Dr. Turner performed in Kristin Chenoweth’s My Love Letter to Broadway at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre, NYC. Notable roles include Edna Turnblad (Hairspray), William Barfée (The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee), Enoch Snow (Carousel), the Baker (Into the Woods), Sam (Susannah), the title roles in Mozart’s La clemenza di Tito and Bizet’s Le docteur miracle, and Carlo in the American premiere of Judith Weir’s Armida.

Equally at home on the concert stage, Dr. Turner has been a featured soloist in performances with Converse University, Limestone University, Salisbury Symphony Orchestra, Greenville Chorale, and Herring Chamber Ensemble. He has performed with Andrea Bocelli and Renée Fleming in collaboration with Opera Carolina and Opera Memphis.

Dr. Turner earned the Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Voice Performance and Opera Stage Directing at the University of Memphis, where he received the Graduate Document Award for his dissertation research, titled The New Messiah: A Neo-Baroque Approach to Ornamentation in the Performance of Paul Ayres’s Messyah. He also holds degrees from the University of South Carolina and Furman University and has presented guest lectures, master classes, and recitals at Clemson, Converse, Furman, Georgia College, and USC.

Dr. Turner is currently Instructor of Voice and Musical Theatre at Converse University. He previously served on the faculties of Lander University, Spartanburg Methodist College, and Coahoma Community College. He accepts motivated students through his private studio (Upstate Voice Lessons) and the Lawson Academy of the Arts.

Website: https://www.toddjaredturner.com/