Biography
Jason Vodicka is associate dean in the Rider University College of Arts and Sciences and associate professor of music education at Westminster Choir College. In addition to his work with students in the School of Communication, Media, & Performing Arts and Westminster Choir College, he supervises the college’s offices of Performance Management and Production Management which are responsible for more than 125 student and faculty performances annually.
Known for his innovative work in the field of choral music pedagogy, Dr. Vodicka has presented at state, regional, and national conferences of the American Choral Directors Association and the National Association for Music Education. He has also presented at the Cultural Diversity in Music Education Conference, the International Conference on Music Learning Theory, the International Conference on the Concepts and Practices of Choral Singing, and the International Society for Music Education World Conference.
Dr. Vodicka’s writing can be found in publications such as Update: Applications of Research in Music Education, The Oxford Handbook of Choral Pedagogy, Visions of Research in Music Education, and the Inside the Choral Rehearsal series. His work with the Palmer Research Group led to the creation of a grounded Framework for Culturally Relevant and Responsive Music Teaching that was studied through a research grant from the National Association for Music Education.
In addition to his work at Rider, Dr. Vodicka is artistic director of the New Jersey MasterChorale, a community ensemble based in Haddonfield, NJ. He is in frequent demand as a clinician and guest conductor and has conducted festival choirs in Virginia, Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, and Mississippi, and will conduct the New Mexico treble all-state choir in 2026.
Dr. Vodicka’s teaching career includes nine years in PreK-12 public schools and more than a decade in higher education. He holds both undergraduate and graduate degrees in music education from Westminster Choir College and a doctorate in conducting from the University of Georgia. In 2017, he was inducted into the Westminster Choir College Music Education Hall of Fame for his support of the college and his contributions to the field of music education.