Joel Vega is a PhD student in the Arts Administration, Education and Policy doctoral program. He has a background in opera performance and production, community non-profit administration, and choral conducting. He received his B. Music Performance (voice) from Northern Arizona University and his M. Music Performance (voice) from Winthrop University, where he studied with internationally renowned tenor, John Fowler, and was a conducting teaching assistant for the choral department. He founded an opera company in 2014, Mid-Ohio Civic Opera, a small professional company focused on free community performances of opera and support of beginning US opera artists. In 2022 he helped found The Mansfield Shakespeare Company, a community theater company dedicated to producing free "Shakespeare in the park” performances every summer. He has been an adjunct instructor of applied music and music appreciation at several area colleges and universities, taught k-2 music in public schools, and is thrilled to join the teaching and student community here at OSU.

Research interests: 

• Wage and labor conditions for beginning and emerging opera artists in the US.
• Non-profit community music outreach practice and outcomes.
• Student to professional performer transitions in music. 

Fun fact: Joel is an identical twin. His twin brother is an ICU RN at a local hospital.