Staff
Dr. Robert Summer - Founder & Music Director Emeritus
Dr. Robert Summer, founder and music director emeritus of The Master Chorale of Tampa Bay. Dr. Summer has prepared many choruses for conductors including Irwin Hoffman, Jahja Ling, Julius Rudel, Sir David Willcocks, Sir Neville Marriner, and Robert Shaw. The Master Chorale and USF Chamber Singers were invited by Shaw to participate in performances and a recording on Telarc Records of the Mahler Symphony No. 8 with the Atlanta Symphony and Chorus in 1991.
Dr. Summer has been a guest conductor of The Florida Orchestra on a regular basis, having conducted performances of Orff’s Carmina Burana, Verdi’s Requiem, the Brahms Ein deutsches Requiem, Bach’s Mass in B Minor, and other major choral/orchestral masterworks. In 1990 he had a Carnegie Hall debut conducting the Manhattan Chamber Orchestra and several choirs from throughout the United States in Schubert’s Mass in G Major. The Master Chorale and the USF Chamber Singers under his direction, joined Sir David Willcocks and The London Bach Choir in June 1996 for a performance of the Berlioz Requiem in Westminster Cathedral, London, as well as in a concert of American and English music at King’s College Chapel in Cambridge.
Dr. Summer has been a guest conductor of The Florida Orchestra on a regular basis, having conducted performances of Orff’s Carmina Burana, Verdi’s Requiem, the Brahms Ein deutsches Requiem, Bach’s Mass in B Minor, and other major choral/orchestral masterworks. In 1990 he had a Carnegie Hall debut conducting the Manhattan Chamber Orchestra and several choirs from throughout the United States in Schubert’s Mass in G Major. The Master Chorale and the USF Chamber Singers under his direction, joined Sir David Willcocks and The London Bach Choir in June 1996 for a performance of the Berlioz Requiem in Westminster Cathedral, London, as well as in a concert of American and English music at King’s College Chapel in Cambridge.
Matthew David Clear - Assistant Conductor Email
Matthew David Clear is the Director of Choral Activities and Music Department Chairperson at Pinellas County Center for the Arts where he directs the school’s choral ensembles, sponsors the Tri-M Music Honor Society, and teaches classes in vocal techniques. He also serves as Director of Traditional Worship Music and the Arts at First Presbyterian Church, St. Petersburg where he directs the choir program and coordinates the annual concert series. Mr. Clear is the Florida Vocal Association District 9-Pinellas County Chairperson.
Matthew earned his undergraduate degree in Music Education from Malone University and completed his Master of Music Education degree with an emphasis in choral conducting at Florida State University. Mr. Clear was the 2020 Secondary Pinellas County Music Education Association Teacher of the Year and 2021 Pinellas All-County Mixed Chorus Clinician. In February 2022, the Pinellas County Center for the Arts Women’s Chorale under the direction of Mr. Clear will perform at the American Choral Directors Association Southern Conference in Raleigh, North Carolina.
Matthew earned his undergraduate degree in Music Education from Malone University and completed his Master of Music Education degree with an emphasis in choral conducting at Florida State University. Mr. Clear was the 2020 Secondary Pinellas County Music Education Association Teacher of the Year and 2021 Pinellas All-County Mixed Chorus Clinician. In February 2022, the Pinellas County Center for the Arts Women’s Chorale under the direction of Mr. Clear will perform at the American Choral Directors Association Southern Conference in Raleigh, North Carolina.
Dr. Rodney Shores - Principal Accompanist
Originally from Greensboro, NC, Rodney Shores is the Principal Accompanist for The Master Chorale, a music educator, performer, choral conductor, clinician, and lecturer who also specializes in the history of Christian worship and liturgy. With more than 28 years of teaching experience at the elementary, middle/high-school, and university levels, he currently serves as Lecturer in Music and Instructor of Voice at the University of Tampa (UT), where he also conducts the University Concert Chorus. Rodney also conducts Serata, an advanced high-school men’s chorus, as part of Tampa Bay’s Lumina Youth Choirs.
Rodney holds the Master of Music degree and the advanced graduate certificate in piano performance and pedagogy from the University of South Florida, where he also completed all coursework for a master’s degree in choral conducting. He holds a doctorate in historical and applied liturgics from the Webber Institute for Worship Studies.
Rodney holds the Master of Music degree and the advanced graduate certificate in piano performance and pedagogy from the University of South Florida, where he also completed all coursework for a master’s degree in choral conducting. He holds a doctorate in historical and applied liturgics from the Webber Institute for Worship Studies.
Deah McReynolds - Education & Outreach Conductor Email
Deah McReynolds holds a Master of Music degree in Choral Conducting and Bachelor of Arts degree in Music Education from the University of South Florida. Deah is Artistic Director for Lumina Youth Choirs. This diversified program of vocal arts sustains six choirs of boys and girls, grades K-12, which perform locally, nationally and internationally in choral festival, concert and competition settings. She is Conductor of Lumina Stele & Voci de Lumina. While presenting concert tours in Ireland and Canada, both choirs were honored to give performances at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Dublin, Notre-Dame Basilica of Montreal, and Basilica of Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré in Quebec. In 2018, she conducted the combined Lumina Youth Choirs in their debut performance at Carnegie Hall in New York City.
An active adjudicator and clinician, Deah regularly works with high school, middle school, and elementary school choirs, ensembles & solo musicians across the state of Florida. In addition to her work with young singers, Mrs. McReynolds is
Outreach and Education Conductor for the Master Chorale of Tampa Bay, bringing in-class workshops and formal concert experiences to over 1000 elementary students in both Hillsborough and Pinellas counties each year. While attending USF, she conducted the USF Chamber Singers, Collegium and Collegiate choirs.
Mrs. McReynolds is also adjunct Artist Faculty at The University of Tampa, currently teaching Studio Voice. An active performer, Deah has had the pleasure
of singing with celebrated Broadway performers Kristin Chenoweth, Susan Egan, Allie Mauzey and Kyle Dean Massey. She has been a featured soloist with the Florida Orchestra in performances of Video Games RePlay and performed as soloist twice for The Orchestra Sings educational outreach concerts, also with the Florida Orchestra. She is an active member of The Master Chorale of Tampa Bay and has enjoyed singing as a soloist and with various ensembles throughout the Tampa Bay area for more than 25 years.
An active adjudicator and clinician, Deah regularly works with high school, middle school, and elementary school choirs, ensembles & solo musicians across the state of Florida. In addition to her work with young singers, Mrs. McReynolds is
Outreach and Education Conductor for the Master Chorale of Tampa Bay, bringing in-class workshops and formal concert experiences to over 1000 elementary students in both Hillsborough and Pinellas counties each year. While attending USF, she conducted the USF Chamber Singers, Collegium and Collegiate choirs.
Mrs. McReynolds is also adjunct Artist Faculty at The University of Tampa, currently teaching Studio Voice. An active performer, Deah has had the pleasure
of singing with celebrated Broadway performers Kristin Chenoweth, Susan Egan, Allie Mauzey and Kyle Dean Massey. She has been a featured soloist with the Florida Orchestra in performances of Video Games RePlay and performed as soloist twice for The Orchestra Sings educational outreach concerts, also with the Florida Orchestra. She is an active member of The Master Chorale of Tampa Bay and has enjoyed singing as a soloist and with various ensembles throughout the Tampa Bay area for more than 25 years.
Kara Dwyer - Managing Director Email
Kara Dwyer is the Managing Director and joined the Chorale's staff in 2005. Kara oversees all administrative functions of the Chorale's operations.
Kara is originally from Liberty, Maine. She received her Graduate Certificate in Non Profit Management from the University of Tampa in 2009, and Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with concentrations in Management and International Business from the University of Maine - Orono in 2005. She also attended Griffith University in Brisbane, Australia in partial fulfillment of her international concentration. With over 18 years of non-profit arts administrative experience, Kara occasionally consults on matters of nonprofit arts management, has been a grant panelist for the Florida Division of Cultural Affairs and the Arts Council of Hillsborough County, and has previously served as the Director of Operations for Gulf Coast Youth Choirs (now Lumina Youth Choirs), Marketing Coordinator for the Community Foundation of Tampa Bay, and the Assistant Office Manager for the Maine Center for the Arts (now the Collins Center for the Arts).
Kara has been singing in various choirs for over 25 years, including the Mount View Chamber Singers, the University of Maine Singers, University of Maine Oratorio Society, the Collegiate Chorale at the University of Maine, The Richard Zielinski Singers, Con Amore, Ensemble Mir, USF Collegium Choir, the Forest Hills Singers, and currently sings with The Master Chorale of Tampa Bay.
Kara is originally from Liberty, Maine. She received her Graduate Certificate in Non Profit Management from the University of Tampa in 2009, and Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with concentrations in Management and International Business from the University of Maine - Orono in 2005. She also attended Griffith University in Brisbane, Australia in partial fulfillment of her international concentration. With over 18 years of non-profit arts administrative experience, Kara occasionally consults on matters of nonprofit arts management, has been a grant panelist for the Florida Division of Cultural Affairs and the Arts Council of Hillsborough County, and has previously served as the Director of Operations for Gulf Coast Youth Choirs (now Lumina Youth Choirs), Marketing Coordinator for the Community Foundation of Tampa Bay, and the Assistant Office Manager for the Maine Center for the Arts (now the Collins Center for the Arts).
Kara has been singing in various choirs for over 25 years, including the Mount View Chamber Singers, the University of Maine Singers, University of Maine Oratorio Society, the Collegiate Chorale at the University of Maine, The Richard Zielinski Singers, Con Amore, Ensemble Mir, USF Collegium Choir, the Forest Hills Singers, and currently sings with The Master Chorale of Tampa Bay.
Tom Barker - Development Director Email
Tom Barker is the Development Director and joined our team in November, 2016. Tom brings over 25 years of executive planning, administration, communications and marketing experience in the nonprofit sector. He is a graduate of Purdue University in social sciences and has completed many hours of nonprofit financial and leadership training. Tom has served in both board and staff positions for the Tidewater YMCA and Downtown Development Council in Norfolk, VA, the Carolina Voices Chorus, Mayor's Development Council, Charlotte Chamber of Commerce, Goodwill Industries in Charlotte, NC, and the Tampa Bay Business Guild. He also served as a facilitator in the University of New Hampshire's Constructive Change strategic planning program helping many local nonprofit organizations with long term strategic plans. Prior to this appointment Tom was executive director for Una Voce: The Florida Men's Chorale, implementing development and leadership programs, supporting capacity-building grant projects, and providing administrative coordination for the chorus.
Jason Burke - Project Manager Email
Jason Burke is the Project Manager for The Master Chorale of Tampa Bay.
As a performer, Jason has appeared across the country in the national tour of The Music of Andrew Lloyd Webber as a principal vocalist. Other theatrical highlights include productions of Phantom, Moon Over Buffalo, Tommy, My Fair Lady, Damn Yankees, She Loves Me, The Music Man, Jesus Christ Superstar, I Shall Not Be Moved, the opera McTeague, Rose-Marie, and 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue at the Kennedy Center. Additionally, Jason has performed with the New York City Opera in Acis & Galatea and I Capuletti e I Montecchi and the musical Sweeney Todd with the New York Philharmonic.
In March 2010, Jason was a finalist in the American Traditions Vocal Competition in Savannah, GA.
Jason has had the opportunity to sing with several orchestras including the New York Philharmonic, the American Symphony Orchestra, The Cincinnati Pops, the Indianapolis Pops, the Detroit Pops, the Florida Orchestra and the Bloomington Pops. Special concerts included the premiere of Fantasia 2000 at Carnegie Hall and Beethoven's Symphony No.9 on the eve of the millennium. A frequent soloist throughout the Bay and with Master Chorale, in past seasons Jason has performed inMessiah, Rutter's Mass for the Children, Schubert's Mass in G, as well as the annual musical theatre benefit concerts at the Largo Cultural Center.
Recordings include: Sweeney Todd: LIVE, Die Liebe Der Danae (Telarc), Rose-Marie (cast-album), Puttin' On the Ritz (soloist), The Magical Music of Disney (additional vocal arrangements), The Music Man (Grammy-nominated), The Stephen Paulus Christmas Album, American Voices v1, v2, & v3 and several Master Chorale recordings.
Jason is currently on the faculty of St. Petersburg College as Professor of Musical Theatre & Voice and is also faculty for their Summer Vocal Institute, leading the Opera workshop class.
He is also active as a Music Director and has music directed Hair, Rocky Horror Show, Sweeney Todd, Sugar Babies, Evita, H2$, Fiddler on the Roof, The King & I, I Shall Not Be Moved, along with several cabarets and revues.
Jason holds an MM and a BS in Voice from Indiana University School of Music.
As a performer, Jason has appeared across the country in the national tour of The Music of Andrew Lloyd Webber as a principal vocalist. Other theatrical highlights include productions of Phantom, Moon Over Buffalo, Tommy, My Fair Lady, Damn Yankees, She Loves Me, The Music Man, Jesus Christ Superstar, I Shall Not Be Moved, the opera McTeague, Rose-Marie, and 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue at the Kennedy Center. Additionally, Jason has performed with the New York City Opera in Acis & Galatea and I Capuletti e I Montecchi and the musical Sweeney Todd with the New York Philharmonic.
In March 2010, Jason was a finalist in the American Traditions Vocal Competition in Savannah, GA.
Jason has had the opportunity to sing with several orchestras including the New York Philharmonic, the American Symphony Orchestra, The Cincinnati Pops, the Indianapolis Pops, the Detroit Pops, the Florida Orchestra and the Bloomington Pops. Special concerts included the premiere of Fantasia 2000 at Carnegie Hall and Beethoven's Symphony No.9 on the eve of the millennium. A frequent soloist throughout the Bay and with Master Chorale, in past seasons Jason has performed inMessiah, Rutter's Mass for the Children, Schubert's Mass in G, as well as the annual musical theatre benefit concerts at the Largo Cultural Center.
Recordings include: Sweeney Todd: LIVE, Die Liebe Der Danae (Telarc), Rose-Marie (cast-album), Puttin' On the Ritz (soloist), The Magical Music of Disney (additional vocal arrangements), The Music Man (Grammy-nominated), The Stephen Paulus Christmas Album, American Voices v1, v2, & v3 and several Master Chorale recordings.
Jason is currently on the faculty of St. Petersburg College as Professor of Musical Theatre & Voice and is also faculty for their Summer Vocal Institute, leading the Opera workshop class.
He is also active as a Music Director and has music directed Hair, Rocky Horror Show, Sweeney Todd, Sugar Babies, Evita, H2$, Fiddler on the Roof, The King & I, I Shall Not Be Moved, along with several cabarets and revues.
Jason holds an MM and a BS in Voice from Indiana University School of Music.
