Anton Armstrong

Anton Armstrong is the Harry R. and Thora H. Tosdal Professor of Music at St. Olaf College and Conductor of the St. Olaf Choir. He assumed this position in 1990 following 10 years in Grand Rapids, Michigan where he served on the faculty of Calvin College and conducted the Campus Choir, the Calvin College Alumni Choir and the Grand Rapids Symphony Chorus.

A graduate of St. Olaf College, Armstrong earned a Master of Music degree at the University of Illinois and the Doctor of Musical Arts degree from Michigan State University. He holds membership in several professional societies, including the American Choral Directors Association, Choristers Guild, Chorus America, and the International Federation for Choral Music. Armstrong also serves as editor of a multicultural choral series for Earthsongs Publications and co-editor of the revised St. Olaf Choral Series for Augsburg Fortress Publishers. He is featured with Andre Thomas on an instructional video on adolescent singers entitled Body, Mind, Spirit, Voice. He is a contributing writer to Volume I of Teaching Music through Performance in Choir and a contributor to Way Over in Beulah Lan' by Andre Thomas.

Ysaye Barnwell

Ysaye M. Barnwell was born in New York City and has lived in Washington, D.C., for over 40 years. Her life experiences have taken her down three major paths. She began in music at the age of 2, studying violin for 15 years with her father and majoring in music in high school. She sang in a choir while in junior high school and then in college. In 1976, she founded the Jubilee Singers at All Souls Unitarian Church in Washington, D.C. It was, there in 1979, that Bernice Johnson Reagon witnessed her as a singer and a Sign Language interpreter and invited her to audition for Sweet Honey In The Rock.

Barnwell is also a Speech Pathologist with the Bachelors, Masters (SUNY, Geneseo 1963-68) and Ph.D. (University of Pittsburgh 1975) degrees and was a professor in the College of Dentistry for over a decade. In 1981 she completed post-doctoral work and earned the Master of Science in Public Health

Sam Cooke

Samuel Cook (January 22, 1931 - December 11, 1964), known professionally as Sam Cooke, was an African-American gospel, R&B, soul, and pop singer, songwriter, and entrepreneur. He is considered to be one of the pioneers and founders of soul music. He is commonly known as the King of Soul for his unmatched vocal abilities and influence on the modern world of music. His contribution in pioneering Soul music led to the rise of Aretha Franklin, Bobby Womack, Al Green, Curtis Mayfield, Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, and popularizing the likes of Otis Redding and James Brown.

Cooke had 29 top-40 hits in the U.S. between 1957 and 1964. Major hits like "You Send Me", "A Change Is Gonna Come", "Chain Gang", "Wonderful World", and "Bring It on Home to Me" are some of his most popular songs. Cooke was also among the first modern black performers and composers to attend to the business side of his musical career. He founded both a record label and a publishing company as an extension of his careers as a singer and composer. He also took an active part in the American Civil Rights Movement.

Rollo Dilworth

Rollo Dilworth is assistant professor of music, director of the bachelor of music education program, and director of the choral program at North Park University, Chicago, IL, where he has taught since 1996. In 2003 the University honored him with the 2003 Zenos Hawkinson Award for Teaching and Campus Leadership. Dilworth has a bachelor of science in music education from Case Western Reserve University; a M.Ed. from University of Missouri-St. Louis; and a D.M.A. from Northwestern University.

In addition to his teaching responsibilities, Dilworth serves as conductor of the North Park University Gospel Choir and the University Choir. He is an oft-published composer of choral music, with emphasis in the areas of spirituals and gospel inspired works.

He is an award-winning composer and his work has taken him to the continents of Europe, Asia, Africa and Australia. In addition to his research in African-American music, he also serves as Minister of Music at Martin Temple African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church in Chicago.

Lamont Dozier

Lamont Herbert Dozier is an American songwriter and record producer, born in Detroit, Michigan. Dozier has co-written and produced 14 US Billboard #1 hits and 4 number ones in the UK.

Dozier is best known as a member of Holland-Dozier-Holland, the songwriting and production team responsible for much of the Motown sound and numerous hit records by artists such as Martha and the Vandellas, The Supremes, The Four Tops, and The Isley Brothers. Along with Brian Holland, Dozier served as the team's musical arranger and producer, whilst Eddie Holland concentrated mainly on lyrics and vocal production.

Duke Ellington

Born 29 April 1899 in Washington DC, composer, bandleader, and pianist Edward Kennedy ("Duke") Ellington was recognized in his lifetime as one of the greatest jazz composers and performers. Nicknamed "Duke" by a boyhood friend who admired his regal air, the name stuck and became indelibly associated with the finest creations in big band and vocal jazz. A genius for instrumental combinations, improvisation, and jazz arranging brought the world the unique "Ellington" sound that found consummate expression in works like "Mood Indigo," "Sophisticated Lady," and the symphonic suites Black, Brown, and Beige (which he subtitled "a Tone Parallel to the History of the Negro in America") and Harlem ("a Tone Parallel to Harlem").

Stacey V. Gibbs

Stacey V. Gibbs has many arrangements of spirituals in print. Highly acclaimed for his expertise in bringing new vitality and excitement to these beloved pieces, they have reached a wide range of choirs both internationally and in the U.S. where they have been featured in numerous festivals, celebrations, and competitions as well as at ACDA regional and National Conferences. Stacey resides in Detroit, Michigan.

Jester Hairston

Actor, Musician. An arranger, composer, traveling choir leader, actor and story teller, his career took him all over the world. Best remebered for his TV role as Rolly Forbes on the TV show "Amen." The grandson of slaves, he was born in 1901 in Belews Creek, North Carolina. A star athlete in high school and college, he graduated as a Cum Laude music major from Tufts University and then furthered his studies at Julliard School of Music in New York.

In 1936 he came to Hollywood with Hall Johnson to help with arranging the chorous music for "Green Pastures." In 1937 he became a founding member of the Screen Actors Guild. In 1943 he formed his own choir and arranged the choral background music for many of Hollywood's outstanding films, among them "Carmen Jones." As an actor he played a number of character roles on television and motion pictures. He played on "Amos and Andy" for 15 years and also played 'Wildcat' on the 1970s TV show "That's My Mama." He died in Los Angeles one year before reaching his 100th birthday.

Moses Hogan

Moses George Hogan, born in New Orleans, Louisiana on March 13, 1957, was a pianist, conductor and arranger of international renown. A graduate of the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts (NOCCA) and Oberlin Conservatory of Music in Ohio, he also studied at New York's Juilliard School of Music and Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge. Mr. Hogan's many accomplishments as a concert pianist included winning first place in the prestigious 28th annual Kosciuszko Foundation Chopin Competition in New York. Hogan was recently appointed Artist In Residence at Loyola University in New Orleans. Hogan began his exploration of the choral music idiom in 1980. Hogan's former New Orleans based Moses Hogan Chorale received international acclaim.

Brian Holland

Brian Holland is an American songwriter and record producer, best known as a member of Holland-Dozier-Holland, the songwriting and production team that was responsible for much of the Motown sound and numerous hit records by artists such as Martha and the Vandellas, The Supremes, The Four Tops, and The Isley Brothers. Holland, along with Lamont Dozier, served as the team's musical arranger and producer. He has written or co-written 145 hits in US and 78 in the UK.

Holland has also had an on-and-off career as a performer. He released a solo single in 1958 under the name of "Briant Holland". He and longtime friend and future songwriting partner Freddie Gorman were in a short-lived group called the Fidalatones, and he was later (1960-62) a member of the Motown recording act The Satintones as well as being a member of the Rayber Voices, a quartet that backed up several early Motown recording acts. He partnered with Lamont Dozier under the name "Holland-Dozier", releasing a lone single for Motown in 1963, then was inactive for a number of years, and was then revived in the early and mid-1970s, scoring a number of medium-sized R&B hits. Holland resumed his solo recording career in 1974, hitting the charts as a solo artist in '74 and '75.

Michael Jackson

Michael Jackson, one of the most widely beloved entertainers and profoundly influential artists of all-time, leaves an indelible imprint on popular music and culture.

Five of Jackson's solo albums - "Off the Wall," "Thriller," "Bad," "Dangerous" and "HIStory," all with Epic Records - are among the top-sellers of all time and "Thriller" holds the distinction as the largest selling album worldwide in the history of the recording industry with more than 70 million units sold. Additionally, singles released from the Thriller album sold more than 100 million copies worldwide, another all time record.

Hall Johnson

Composer, author, conductor and arranger, educated at the Knox Institute, Atlanta University, Allen University, USC, the Hahn School of Music, the University of Pennsylvania and the New York Institute of Musical Art. He also studied with Percy Goetschius and was awarded an Honorary Music Degree from the Philadelphia Musical Academy. In 1925, he formed the Hall Johnson Choir, appearing in concerts, films, theater, radio, television and recordings. He arranged and directed the music for the Broadway production of "Green Pastures" (in which his choir appeared), and wrote the Broadway stage score for "Run, Little Chillun". In 1936, he organized the Festival Negro Chorus of Los Angeles, and appeared in the International Festival of Fine Arts in Berlin. In 1951, he toured Germany and Vienna through the auspices of the US State Department, and won the New York City Citation in 1962. He was also a member of the New York City Citizens Advisory Commission for Cultural Affairs.

Victor C. Johnson

Victor C. Johnson, a native of Dallas, Texas, is the School Choral Editor for SING!, the educational publishing division of Choristers Guild. A prolific composer and arranger, he has over 350 choral works, vocal solo books, and keyboard collections currently in print.

Mr. Johnson attended the University of Texas at Arlington where he majored in music education with a concentration in organ. While attending UTA, he served as student conductor of the university's choral ensembles and opera workshop accompanist. From 2000-2018, he was the choral director at the Ft. Worth Academy of Fine Arts (FWAFA). At FWAFA, Victor directed the Academy Singers, Academy Men's Choir and was Artistic Director of the Singing Girls of Texas and Children's Choir of Texas.

Bobby McFerrin

On the 11th of March, 1950, Bobby McFerrin was born. His parents were classical singers and he began to study music theory early on in his life. His family then moved to Los Angeles. During high school and then in College, UCSC, he focused on the piano. Once he finished college, Bobby McFerrin toured with numerous bands including the Ice Follies.

However, it was only in 1977 that Bobby McFerrin decide to become a singer. At one point he met Bill Cosby who arranged for him take part in the 1980 Playboy Jazz Festival. It was only two years later where he released his firm album called "Bobby McFerrin" in 1982. It was in 1983, that Bobby McFerrin started converting without a band. This eventually led him to make a solo tour in Germany. It was in Germany that he recorded his album "The Voice". From that point on, he continued to make solo tours in the most prestigious locations. It is also important to realize that Bobby McFerrin worked with several important people like Garrison Keillor, Jack Nicholson, and Joe Zawinul. On "Another Night in Tunisia", Bobby McFerrin won two Grammies.

Albert McNeil

Albert McNeil was a native Californian -- born in Los Angeles. He earned Bachelors and Masters degrees at the University of California, Los Angeles, and did his doctoral studies at the University of Southern California, the Westminster Choir College of Princeton, and the University of Lausanne, Switzerland. He is presently Professor Emeritus of Music at the University of Southern California at Davis, where he was Director of choral activities for 21 years and headed the Music Education Program. He taught courses in ethnomusicology at the University of Southern California for 12 years. In 1991, he was honored by his alma mater, UCLA, as Alumnus of the Year in the area of Professional Excellence.

Rosephanye Powell

Dr. Rosephanye Dunn Powell has been hailed as one of America's premier women composers of choral music. Dr. Powell is commissioned yearly to compose for university choruses, professional, community and church choirs, as well as secondary school choruses. Dr. Powell's works have been conducted and premiered by nationally-renowned choral conductors, including, but not limited to, Anton Armstrong, Philip Brunelle, Bob Chilcott, Rodney Eichenberger, Tom Hall, Albert McNeil, Tim Seelig, Andre Thomas and Judith Willoughby. Her work has been auctioned by Chorus America and her compositions are in great demand at choral festivals around the country, frequently appearing on the regional and national conventions of the American Choral Directors Association, as well as Honor Choir festivals.

Bernice Johnson Reagon

For more than a half-century Bernice Johnson Reagon was a major cultural voice for freedom and justice. An African American woman's voice, a child of Southwest Georgia, a voice raised in song, born in the struggle against racism in America during the Civil Rights Movement of the 50s and 60s, she is a composer, songleader, scholar and producer.

Perhaps no individual today better illustrates the transformative power and instruction of traditional African American music and cultural history than Bernice Johnson Reagon, who has excelled equally in the realms of scholarship, composition, teaching and performance.

A woman of significant accomplishment, she has served as Distinguished Professor of History at American University, curator emerita at the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American History and as the founder and long-time artistic director of Sweet Honey In The Rock, a world-renowned a cappella ensemble of African-American women. Success in any one of these fields would be noteworthy, but she has combined music, a commitment to social justice and academic excellence, and has earned esteem in all three.

Lionel Richie

A founder member of the Commodores, Lionel Richie's debut solo album was a U.S. #3 hit in 1982, and "Truly," a ballad from that album, reached #1, winning him a Grammy. He performed one of his most popular hits, "All Night Long" (1983), at the closing ceremony of the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games and co-wrote the famine relief song "We Are the World" with Michael Jackson in 1993.

Singer and songwriter Lionel Richie born on June 20, 1949 in Tuskegee, Alabama, USA. His grandfather worked at the Tuskegee Institute with Booker T. Washington.

A founder member of the Commodores, his debut solo album Lionel Richie (1982) was a US number 3 hit, and 'Truly', a ballad from that album, reached US number 1, winning him a Grammy award. He performed one of his most popular hits, 'All Night Long' (1983), at the closing ceremony of the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games. Richie co-wrote the famine relief song 'We Are The World' with Michael Jackson in 1993. Later albums include Louder Than Words (1996), Renaissance (2000), and Coming Home (2006).

Smokey Robinson

Once pronounced by Bob Dylan as America's "greatest living poet," acclaimed singer-songwriter Smokey Robinson's career spans over 4 decades of hits. He has received numerous awards including the Grammy Living Legend Award, NARAS Lifetime Achievement Award, Honorary Doctorate (Howard University), Kennedy Center Honors and the National Medal of Arts Award from the President of the United States. He has also been inducted into the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame and the Songwriters' Hall of Fame.

During the course of his 50-year career in music, Robinson has accumulated more than 4,000 songs to his credit and continues to thrill sold-out audiences around the world with his high tenor voice, impeccable timing, and profound sense of lyric. Never resting on his laurels, Smokey Robinson remains a beloved icon in our musical heritage.

Eugene Rogers

Recognized as a leading conductor, pedagogue, and lecturer, Eugene Rogers has appeared throughout the United States as well as in Africa, Canada, China, Singapore, England, Portugal, Hong Kong, Luxembourg, Mexico, Spain, and Italy. Recently, Rogers received the Sphinx Medal of Excellence for his commitment to issues of social justice and leadership and conducted the University of Michigan Men's Glee Club in Salt Lake City, Utah at the National Convention of the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA). In addition to his duties as a conductor, teacher, and singer, Rogers is the first national chair of Diversity Issues for the American Choral Directors Association National Conference, co-artistic director of Portugal's Lisbon Summer Choral Festival and, in 2010 and 2011, was the artistic director of the Disneyland Hong Kong Winter Choral Festival. He has served as a panelist for the National Endowment of the Arts and currently serves on the boards of Chorus America, the National Collegiate Choral Organization, and is the ChoralQuest series editor for the American Composers Forum.

Mervyn Warren

5-time Grammy-Award winner and 10-time Grammy nominee Mervyn Warren is a highly accomplished film & TV composer, record producer, arranger, songwriter/lyricist, pianist, and vocalist.

Equally adept at various styles, Merv's work spans the genres of film scoring, pop, R&B, jazz, orchestral, classical, vocal, country, and more. One of the industry's most sought-after producers, his credits read like a who's-who of pop, R&B, jazz, and country and include Whitney Houston, Boyz II Men, Barbra Streisand, Rascal Flatts, Michael Buble, Chicago, Queen Latifah, Al Jarreau, and Faith Hill, among many others.

Stevie Wonder

Stevland Hardaway Morris (born Stevland Hardaway Judkins), known by his stage name Stevie Wonder, is an American musician, singer, songwriter, record producer, and multi-instrumentalist. A child prodigy, he became one of the most creative and loved musical performers of the late 20th century. Wonder signed with Motown's Tamla label at the age of 11 and has continued to perform and record for Motown as of the early 2010s. He has been blind since shortly after birth.