Ron Witzke has been a member of the voice faculty at William Jewell College since 1984. He holds a BME from Southern Nazarene University (1978), and graduate degrees in music from the University of Texas at Austin (MM) and from Indiana University (DMA). In 2018 he completed requirements for a Certificate in Theology, Arts, and Culture from Fuller Seminary, Pasadena, CA.

Ron has premiered two works by William Jewell faculty members. Anthony Maglione’s cantata Mystic Trumpeter was recorded on the Naxos label, and The Wedding of Solomon was performed during the July 2018 National AGO convention. In May of 2019 Ron soloed in Ian Coleman’s Negro Spiritual cycle, which included texts based on Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Langston Hughes. Most recently, Ron joined the graduate students of William Jewell’s new Artist Diploma program in their production of The Trial of Elizabeth Cree. He will also sing Bartolo this spring in the AD production of Le Nozze di Figaro.

Ron has turned his attention to writing libretti – texts for choral works. In February, 2020, the Dallas/Ft. Worth choral ensemble, Verdigris, premiered Dust Bowl by Anthony Maglione. Ron compiled primary source materials and wrote original poetry for the libretto, fashioning it into a multimovement, one-hour work. Ron and Tony are now collaborating on a new opera to be work-shopped by students in Jewell’s Artist Diploma Program.

Ron’s article, “Richard Wagner’s Der Ring des Nibelungen – Another Look” was published in the spring ’21 issue of Christian Scholar’s Review.