Home / People / Dr. Aaron Rice Dr. Aaron Rice Associate Professor of Music and Chair of the Department of Music AARON M. RICE serves as Chair of the Department of Music and Associate Professor of Music at Gardner-Webb University in Boiling Springs, North Carolina, where he has provided dynamic leadership since August 2022. In this role, he oversees six degree programs and provides administrative direction for faculty and staff. Under his leadership, the Department of Music has experienced remarkable growth, expanding by more than thirty percent from Fall 2022 to Fall 2024 through innovative recruitment initiatives and strategic program development. In recognition of his outstanding contributions, Dr. Rice received the Faculty Rising Star Award in 2025. As a distinguished choral conductor and educator, Dr. Rice brings extensive experience from previous appointments at Shorter University, where he served as Director of Choral Activities and Tenured Full Professor of Music, and Chowan University, where he developed award-winning choral programs. His artistic vision has been showcased through performances at prestigious venues, including preparing ensembles for Carnegie Hall and conducting regional and state honor choirs throughout the Southeast. He has conducted masterworks from Handel’s Messiah and Brahms’s Ein deutsches Requiem to John Corigliano’s Fern Hill and Dan Forrest’s Requiem for the Living, demonstrating his commitment to excellence in large-scale choral repertoire. Rice’s commitment to church music is evident in both his academic and ministerial leadership. At Gardner-Webb University, he serves as Coordinator of Music and Worship Leadership Studies, where he teaches all worship classes and supervises worship fieldwork internships, preparing the next generation of pastoral artists with essential theological, musical, and pastoral skills. Currently serving as Minister of Music at First Baptist Church in Lincolnton, North Carolina, he integrates his scholarly expertise with practical ministry leadership, overseeing comprehensive music programs including adult, youth, children’s, and handbell ministries. His previous ministerial positions most recently include Director of Classic Music Ministry at First Presbyterian Church in Rome, Georgia, where he supervised a staff of music ministry associates and championed contemporary sacred music through multiple commissioned works. Dr. Rice has also served in music ministry at numerous churches in North Carolina and Texas since 2004. A passionate advocate for choral artistry and music education, Dr. Rice has presented and performed at state and regional conferences of the American Choral Directors Association, sharing his expertise in choral pedagogy and conducting technique. He serves as Southern Region ACDA Exhibits Chair and has been instrumental in fostering professional development among emerging musicians. His commitment to nurturing future music ministers is further evidenced through his work with Polyphony Music Resources and the Sholar Foundation’s Culture of Call Initiative. Dr. Rice holds a Doctor of Musical Arts in Church Music with a concentration in Choral Conducting from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, where he received the Academic Achievement Award. He also earned a Master of Music in Sacred Music from East Carolina University and dual bachelor’s degrees in Biblical Studies and Comprehensive Music from Southeastern College at Wake Forest. Dr. Rice lives in Cherryville, NC with his wife, Dr. Lane Rice and their two children.
