Aaron M. Rice serves as Tenured Professor of Music, Director of Choral Activities and Coordinator of Music and Worship Studies in the Edith Lester Harbin Department of Music at Shorter University, where he conducts the Shorter Chorale, Men’s and Women’s Choirs, and the Shorter Chorus. Under his direction, the Shorter Chorale maintains a reputation for excellence, touring each year throughout the southeast. The Chorale enjoys an extensive performance schedule including the annual Northwest Georgia Choral Festival and the Feaste of Caroles Service. In 2017 Dr. Rice conducted the Chorale for a performance at the Baptist Church Music Conference Annual Meeting in Atlanta. He serves as the conductor of the Shorter Masterworks on the Hill concert each spring; recent performances include, Pinkham Wedding Cantata, Mendelssohn’s Hear My Prayer, Corigliano’s Fern Hill, Vaughan Williams’ Five Mystical Songs, and Brahms’ Ein Deutsches Requiem. He teaches conducting and choral methods for students in the music education and church music degrees.
Prior to his appointment at Shorter, Dr. Rice taught at Chowan University in Murfreesboro, NC. Under his leadership, the choral department expanded to include the Chowan University Singers, the Chowan University Chorus, and the Chowan University Men’s Choir. Rice also maintained a voice studio and oversaw the conducting curriculum. Rice has prepared choirs for performances at Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center. While completing his DMA, he served as Associate Conductor for the Southwestern Master Chorale, which routinely performed with the Fort Worth Symphony.
A native of North Carolina, Rice received his Doctor of Musical Arts in Church Music and Choral Conducting at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas where he studied with David Thye. He earned the Master of Music degree in Sacred Music and Choral Conducting at East Carolina University as a student of Daniel Bara, and the Bachelor of Arts degree in both biblical studies and comprehensive music from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest, NC.
As a member of American Choral Director’s Association, Rice has performed as a chorister on state and regional concert programs. He serves as the Exhibits Coordinator for the Southern Region. Rice has also served an executive board member of the Baptist Church Music Conference, and he is a member of the music honors society Pi Kappa Lambda.
Dr. Rice lives in Rome with his wife, Lane, and their two children.