MA Top 30 Professional: Randall Umstead

Chair, Department of Music
Furman University

An experienced singer, teacher, and university administrator, Randall Umstead has been shaping young musicians’ futures from multiple platforms and angles for more than two decades. Before his current post at Furman University, in South Carolina, Umstead spent 15 years at the Baylor University School of Music, serving as director of vocal studies, professor of voice, and associate dean of academic affairs. Many former students have gone on to careers as performers and educators or advanced study at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, Jacobs School of Music at IU, Yale University School of Music, and others. 

A onetime professional tenor, Umstead was twice a fellow at the Tanglewood Music Center and has appeared as a soloist with a number of orchestras, including Bach Society Houston, the Dallas Bach Society, the Cincinnati Baroque Orchestra, and the Milwaukee Symphony.

“My background as a performer has helped me empathize with both students and faculty colleagues,” Umstead said. “I learned as a performer to own my own mistakes, and that quality is also essential in a leader.”

Umstead’s impact is set to expand next summer, when he becomes president of the National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS), one of the largest and most prestigious service groups of its kind. 

His plans for NATS include appointing its first executive director in many years and developing a longterm strategic plan. “This is an exciting time of transition for NATS,” Umstead said. “[Our] field continues to evolve at a rapid pace…I’m most excited, though, at working alongside and supporting our members.”