Todd Queen

Dr. Todd Queen was recently appointed as Dean of the College of Music at Florida State University. Queen comes to Florida State from the LSU College of Music & Dramatic Arts, where he served as Dean and Penniman Family Professor of Music, a position he held from 2014 – 2021. His unique combination of teaching, directing, and performing experience has allowed him to travel the world as an educator, stage director, singer, and arts leader.

During his time at LSU, Queen worked with the faculty to modernize the undergraduate curriculum to meet the needs of the 21st century artist. New courses included instruction in technology, marketing, entrepreneurship, and arts leadership. An avid fundraiser, Queen led the college in a $60 million fundraising campaign, which included a $4M gift in 2018, the largest gift in the college’s history. Additional significant gifts included two new endowed chairs, the lead gift for a recital hall renovation, and the naming of the John G. Turner and Jerry G. Fischer Center for Opera. Queen is also a strong advocate for international study and has traveled to Asia on multiple occasions to forge a partnership with East China Normal University in Shanghai, where he was named Visiting Professor. He has spent over a dozen summers in Italy, working with Opera Orvieto and Operafestival di Roma, where he currently serves as Executive Director.

Prior to his appointment at LSU, he served as Professor of Voice and Chair of the Department of Music, Theatre, and Dance in the College of Liberal Arts at Colorado State University. In 2012, Queen was the catalyst for the formation of the LEAP (Leadership, Entrepreneurship, Arts Advocacy and the Public) Institute for the Arts at Colorado State, an interdisciplinary academic unit that houses both an undergraduate minor and graduate program in Arts Leadership and Administration. During his time at CSU, Queen established ten new endowed scholarships for the department and formed the Charles and Reta Ralph Opera Center at CSU, one of a handful of named opera programs in the United States. Queen joined the CSU voice faculty in 2001 as Assistant Professor of Voice and Director of Colorado State Opera Theatre.

Dr. Queen earned the DMA and MM degrees from the Eastman School of Music after completing his undergraduate degree at Brigham Young University. Dr. Queen’s voice students have been selected for competitive young artist programs in the United States and abroad. Former students are currently attending top-tier conservatories and graduate schools and have placed in the district and regional finals of the Metropolitan Opera National Council auditions. Queen served as Artistic Director of Opera Fort Collins from 2004-2011. Under his leadership, the company tripled the number of season productions, significantly increased fundraising efforts, and brought in high-level artists from around the world to sing in Fort Collins.

Throughout his professional career, Queen has produced and directed more than 60 opera and musical theatre productions. His performing career included faculty and guest recitals, master classes, and solo engagements with international and regional opera companies, orchestras, choruses, and concert series. He has sung with East China Normal University, Operafestival di Roma, Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, Sacramento Opera, Fargo-Moorhead Opera, The Fargo-Moorhead Symphony, Opera Fort Collins, and Fort Collins Symphony.