Dr. Marc Schapman is Chair of the Department of Music, Professor of Voice, and Director of SIUE Opera and Musical Theatre at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. He completed the Doctor of Music and Master of Music degrees in Voice Performance at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music and earned his Bachelor of Arts degree from Luther College. A native of Iowa, Dr. Schapman has established a distinguished career as a performer, educator, conductor, and arts administrator.

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An accomplished tenor, Dr. Schapman's operatic career spans more than three decades and includes performances with professional companies throughout the Midwest. Recent engagements include Beppe in Pagliacci, Monostatos in Die Zauberflöte, Remendado in Carmen, Simon O'Hara in Naughty Marietta, Tateh in Ragtime, Prunier in La rondine, Don Riccardo in Ernani, and Bardolfo in Falstaff, Triquet in Eugene Onegin, and Narraboth in Salome. His additional operatic credits include Mime in Siegfried, Loge in Das Rheingold, Goro in Madama Butterfly, George Gibbs in the world premiere of Ned Rorem's Our Town, Spoletta in Tosca, Kaspar in Amahl and the Night Visitors, Gastone in La Traviata, Don Basilio in Le Nozze di Figaro, Ralph Rackstraw in H.M.S. Pinafore, Nanki-Poo in The Mikado, Nelson Deadly in Too Many Sopranos, the Tanzmeister in Ariadne auf Naxos, Harry Easter in Street Scene, and numerous additional operatic and musical theatre roles.

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His concert appearances include the Festival Corale Internazionale di Roma (Rome, Italy), Handel's Messiah, Gounod's St. Cecilia Mass, Beethoven's Missa Solemnis and Symphony No. 9, Rossini's Stabat Mater, Mozart's Coronation Mass, and Mozart's Requiem. He made his Carnegie Hall debut singing the world premiere of Edwin Penhorwood's An American Requiem.

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In addition to his responsibilities at SIUE, Dr. Schapman serves on the voice faculty for Opera Theatre of Saint Louis' Artists-in-Training Program and is Program Coordinator for Opera Theatre of Saint Louis's SING OUT! He is also a co-founder of the Arch City Opera Project, an organization dedicated to providing exceptional performance and educational opportunities for emerging artists while expanding access to opera throughout the St. Louis region.

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An active conductor and music director, Dr. Schapman has conducted more than forty opera and musical theatre productions during his tenure at SIUE. His choral ensembles have performed internationally at the Festival Corale Internazionale di Roma, and he served as conductor of the Illinois Ambassadors of Music Choir during its 2018 European concert tour.

 

A passionate teacher and mentor, Dr. Schapman's students are regularly recognized at the local, regional, and national levels. They have earned top honors in the Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition, National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS) National and Regional Student Auditions in both Classical and Musical Theatre, Opera Theatre of Saint Louis Artists-in-Training adjudications, the Southern Illinois Young Artist Organization Vocal Competition, the FOX Performing Arts Competition, the Union Avenue Opera Crescendo Program, and the SIUE Concerto Competition.

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Dr. Schapman's contributions to teaching and the profession have been recognized through numerous honors. In 2012, he received the National Association of Teachers of Singing Emerging Leaders Award, recognizing outstanding teaching and service by an educator within the first ten years of collegiate instruction. That same year, he was awarded the SIUE College of Arts and Sciences William and Margaret Going Endowed Professorship, the college's highest faculty honor recognizing excellence in teaching and creative activity. Through his work as a performer, educator, conductor, and administrator, Dr. Schapman remains committed to developing the next generation of musicians while advancing the art of opera and vocal performance.