This conversation will explore and celebrate what HBCUs and Black-centered artistic spaces have cultivated, preserved, and made possible for generations of musicians. Panelists will reflect on legacy, mentorship, cultural identity, institution-building, and what we must preserve and strengthen for future generations.
Guest Moderator: Dr. Brian L. Fenderson
Panelists: Dr. Arreon Harley-Emerson, Dr. G. Preston Wilson, Dr. Jeremy Winston
Jeremy Winston is a conductor, educator, entrepreneur, and advocate whose work bridges music, education, and global engagement. Founder and Artistic Director of Jeremy Winston Chorale International, he has led acclaimed performances and transformative artistic experiences around the world. After more than two decades in higher education, including his most recent appointment as Associate Professor of Music and Director of Choral Activities at Central State University, Winston now leads a nonprofit initiative developing innovative pathways to higher education while addressing student debt. He holds a Ph.D. in Education Policy from The Ohio State University, where his research focused on higher education debt and its impact on musicians.
Dr. Brian L. Fenderson is a baritone, educator, clinician and scholar specializing in voice performance. He holds degrees from Lincoln University of Pennsylvania, the University of Delaware, and the University of South Carolina. His research focuses on career readiness for voice majors attending Historically Black Colleges and Universities. Dr. Fenderson was a member of the Grammy Award-winning Metropolitan Opera production of Porgy and Bess and will return to the Met for Mahler’s Symphony No. 8. Other engagements include TENET Vocal Artists and Stanford’s Songs of the Fleet. This fall, he will serve as a guest artist at Tuskegee University and perform at the African American Art Song Alliance Conference in 2027.
Dr. G. Preston Wilson, Jr., is the Director of the Fisk Jubilee Singers at the historic Fisk University in Nashville, TN. He received his Bachelors of Science in Music Education from Fisk University in Nashville, TN in 2010. After graduating from Fisk, Dr. Wilson earned a Masters of Music in Choral Music Education from Bowling Green State University, where he was awarded the Winifred O. Stone Graduate Fellowship, being named the Presidential Graduate Scholar. After graduation from BGSU, Dr. Wilson began teaching at various schools in the Toledo Public School systems. His longest stay was at Start High School where he oversaw five choral ensembles, the school dance team, and an advisor for the African American Culture Club. He was also the vocal coach and co-director for the Toledo Youth Choir: a community youth ensemble; and taught voice and piano for The Mustard Seed Academy of Arts. Dr. Wilson additionally served on the Music Ministry at Friendship Baptist Church, under the leadership of Bishop Duane C. Tisdale. In June of 2021, Dr. Wilson graduated from the University of Missouri (Columbia), obtaining a PhD in Music Education. He successfully defended his dissertation entitled, Successful Urban Elementary Music Educator: A Phenomenological Investigation; which focuses on the lived experiences of urban music teachers in elementary schools. After graduation from The University of Missouri, Dr. Wilson served as an assistant professor of Music Education at Westminster Choir College of Rider University.
A native of Baltimore, Maryland, EVA Founder and Artistic Director Dr. Arreon A. Harley-Emerson graduated from Goucher College in Baltimore, Maryland, with bachelor’s degrees in Music Theory & Composition and Vocal Performance (opera). There he studied piano with Dr. Lisa Weiss, voice with Mrs. Betty Ridgeway, and conducting with Dr. Elisa Koehler. He received master’s of music degrees in Choral Conducting and Vocal Performance from the University of Delaware School of Music, studying Choral Conducting with Dr. Paul Head and Voice with Dr. Noel Archambeault.
Free Registration
Monday, September 21st
7:00 PM ET
Please note that no recording of this webinar will be made public in order to protect the intellectual property of our presenters. Those wishing to join us must attend synchronously.
Delaware Academy of Vocal Arts (DBA: Elevate Vocal Arts) is a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation.
This organization is supported, in part, by a grant from the Delaware Division of the Arts, a state agency, in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts. The Division promotes Delaware arts events on DelawareScene.com.
