James Rodde, conductor of the Singers, is the Endowed Chair and Director of Choral Activities at Iowa State, where he oversees an active program involving 400 undergraduate choristers. Choirs under his direction have toured internationally and been honored with performances at the National Conventions of the ACDA (1993, 1997, 2005, 2009) and NCCO (2008). An active clinician, he has led numerous festival ensembles, including All-State and divisional ACDA honor choirs. Having an expertise in men's choirs, he initiated and conducts the Iowa Statesmen, an ensemble that has now grown to 150 voices. As a conducting mentor, one of his students won the 2005 ACDA National Undergraduate Conducting Competition. Dr. Rodde is also the Artistic Director of two community ensembles, the Ames Chamber Artists and Des Moines Choral Society. Originally from Minneapolis, his chief early mentors were Leland Sateren, Dale Warland, and Don Moses. From 1985 to 2000 he served at the University of North Dakota, where he was honored with the Fine Arts Faculty Award for Teaching.

The Iowa State Singers is Iowa State's most select choral ensemble. Comprised of undergraduates, approximately one half of them music majors, the choir's membership is drawn from a campus of over 27,000 students. The group annually presents a five-concert season, which includes a full-scale Madrigal Dinner and choral-orchestral masterwork. Recent performances include Carmina Burana, the Requiem settings of Brahms, Mozart, and Duruflé, and similar works. Concert tours have taken them to Western Europe, Russia, China, Australia, and conventions of the ACDA (2004, 2005, 2009) and NCCO (2008).