James Benjamin Rodgers (he/him)
Singing Technique
Over more than twenty five years, James has built an extensive and varied knowledge of the performing arts world. He believes deeply in the power of live storytelling to quantify the human experience. He hopes that his work – which strives to examine the reality of the exceptional – enhances our understanding and perspective while promoting in us a willingness to make considered, sustainable and lasting positive change in the world.
James has worked as a Performer, Administrator, Producer, Director and Educator. He is the Founder and Principal of Hemis, the General Manager of the Ciompi String Quartet and the President and General Director of the Manhattan Musical Theatre Lab.
As a performer, James has appeared throughout the world with organizations such as The MDR Sinfonieorchester, The Kurt Weill Festival, The Ravinia Festival, Queensland Opera, The Beijing Modern Music Festival, The Auckland Festival and New Zealand Opera. James has won numerous awards for his performance including the Lotte Lenya and the Joy in Singing competitions.
In 2014 James produced his debut album, Exiled: The Evolution of Kurt Weill. Following its release he wrote, produced and performed in a live “Docucital” which he has produced throughout New Zealand and in the United States. He also produced and performed in Together Again, and Lloyd Webber to Puccini, An Evening of Music at the ASB Theatre, Marlborough, NZ.
As a director, James has created productions of the operas Albert Herring, Don Giovanni, The Rape of Lucretia, Gianni Schicchi, La Rondine and Turn of the Screw. In musical theatre he has directed Sondheim’s Putting It Together and Camelot.
Born and raised in New Zealand, James has been based in New York City since 2005. He holds degrees from Victoria University of Wellington and the Manhattan School of Music where he was the Orvis Foundation Scholar and received the Janet D. Schenck Award for his distinguished contribution to the life of the school. In 2024 James completed the Commercial Theatre Institute’s Three-Day Producer Intensive.
www.jamesbenjaminrodgers.com
www.mmtl.org