Dr. Nicole Wright is an award-winning violinist, violist, arranger, and music educator who has worked with renowned artists such as Rick Ross, Miley Cyrus, Mark Ronson, Jon Batiste, Metro Boomin, Yebba Smith, and Madonna. She has performed at the White House Correspondents Dinner Pre-party, hosted by Google and the Atlantic, under the Obama administration, appeared as an on-stage musician at the Metropolitan Opera; and, in a series of television shows such as the David Letterman show, Saturday Night Live, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, the Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, and in the Netflix’s limited series, the High and the Hog. As a world traveling artist she has performed in Guadeloupe, France with Ensemble du Monde, in Panama City Panama with the Funsincopa organization, and the Tri-state area with the Wordless Orchestra. Passionate about performing, arranging, and teaching, Dr. Wright was reached out to by the Bronxnet Television station to be their spotlight artist. There, she shared her teaching philosophy and performed her arrangement of Michael Jackson’s ‘Heal the World’. The Bronxnet Television station also shared her arrangement of Lean on Me, in honor of Black History Month.
Ms. Wright holds a Master of Music Degree from Mannes College of Music, and a Doctor of Musical Arts Degree from Rutgers University. Along with performing Dr. Wright is a passionate educator. Currently, she is the teaching master at Opus 118, Harlem School of Music. There, she leads the violin program at a public school in Harlem and trains aspiring violin teachers.
Patrice Jackson is carving out a name for herself as a gifted and charismatic soloist. The Detroit News has described her as a “big-toned, boldly projected soloist” and the Hartford Courant complimented her “effortless facility, playful phrasing, and a sense of spontaneity that one hears usually only from the highest caliber of musicians.”
Since winning the Sphinx Competition in 2002, Jackson has performed with multiple symphonies, including those of Atlanta, Detroit, Dallas, New Jersey, and Milwaukee, as well as with the Philadelphia Orchestra. She made her international orchestral and recital debuts in South Africa in 2002. Highlights of her 2018–2019 season include performances with the Boston Conservatory Chamber Orchestra, the Boston Conservatory Recital series, an orchestral performance at New England's Jordan Hall, and debuting with the musical Jagged Little Pill at Boston's A.R.T.
Jackson has been a student of Janos Starker, Aldo Parisot, Joel Krosnick, and Bonnie Hampton. She is a graduate of the Juilliard School in New York and the Yale School of Music in New Haven, and is currently associate professor of cello at Berklee College of Music and Boston Conservatory at Berklee.
Dr. Phyllis Lewis-Hale, a lyric soprano and Jackson, Mississippi, native, is an internationally recognized opera performer, scholar and mentor. She has captivated audiences across the United States and abroad, performing in Italy, Japan, Taiwan, Germany, Austria and Bermuda. Her career includes performances with the Phoenix Symphony, Little Orchestra Society of New York, Bermuda Philharmonic Orchestra, Indianapolis Opera, Opera Memphis, Mississippi Opera and Houston Ebony Opera.
A distinguished artist, Lewis-Hale has received top honors in prestigious vocal competitions, including first prize in the IBLA Grand Prize International “Monteverdi” (now “Bellini”) Vocal Competition in Italy and recognition from the New York Metropolitan Opera National Council Awards. Beyond the stage, Lewis-Hale is a dedicated scholar and advocate for the preservation of African American operatic traditions. Her research explores the resurgence of the Negro spiritual, the legacy of Black opera companies and the preservation of Afro-diasporic musical heritage. She has presented at national and international conferences and published work in the Journal of Singing, focusing on rare spiritual collections and Louisiana’s Afro-Creole and Caribbean folk songs.
As founder and president of the HBCU Opera & Musical Theater Collective, Lewis-Hale leads a coalition of 16 historically Black colleges and universities dedicated to fostering collaboration and excellence in opera and musical theater. She is also spearheading the revitalization of OPERA/SOUTH at Jackson State University, where she made her operatic debut. With support from a National Endowment for the Arts grant, she launched the S.O.S. (Summer OPERA/SOUTH) Boot Camp, a one-week intensive training program for HBCU students set to debut in June 2025, ensuring the next generation of Black opera talent has access to premier training.
Lewis-Hale holds a bachelor’s degree in music education from Jackson State University and both a master’s and doctoral degree from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. She serves as an assistant professor of music and director of opera workshops at JSU, where she mentors and trains aspiring vocalists. Through her artistry, research and commitment to education, Lewis-Hale is ensuring that Black voices remain at the forefront of opera and classical music, shaping a future where diverse talent thrives on the world’s biggest stages.
Dr. Lisa Beckley-Roberts, Associate Professor of Musicology, earned her doctorate in Ethnomusicology and Masters Degrees in Ethnomusicology and Harp Performance at Florida State University, after having received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Harp Performance from Dillard University in New Orleans, LA. Dr. Beckley-Roberts has taught courses including Minority Music in America, American Roots Music, American Popular Music, World Music Cultures and African Music and Dance in addition to guest lecturing and presenting papers on Africana religious practices and the role of music in them, Peruvian shaman ritual chanting, and the creation of sacred space through music. She is also an accomplished performer who has been principal harpist with the Valdosta Symphony Orchestra and the Central Florida Symphony Orchestra, has performed with orchestras throughout the Southeast, and maintains an active performance career having accompanied singers with the neo-soul and hip-hop performers of Tallahassee Nights Live.
Dr. Beckley-Roberts currently teaches both graduate and undergraduate students courses in Music History, Studies in Historical Musicology/Ethnomusicology, Music Appreciation, Applied Harp Lessons, and has proposed and been approved to begin a World Music Cultures class. She began the Jackson State University African Drum and Dance Ensemble shortly after arriving at JSU and held the Inaugural performance of the ensemble on November 30, 2016. She has authored articles and film/album reviews that have appeared in the Journal for the Society of Ethnomusicology, Journal of Africana Studies, and Worlds of Music Journal and has presented at numerous professional conferences including African Studies Association Conference, Caribbean Studies Conference, African and Diasporic Religious Studies Association Conference, and Regional Society for Ethnomusicology Conference.
Having been a Fulbright-Hayes Scholar in South Africa as well as a FLAS scholar in Nigeria, Beckley-Roberts’ research focuses on traditional African religious practices in diaspora communities of the Americas and the role of music, dance and chant in conversion processes. However, she has also done research on exoticism in the Romantic era, the performance of gender in Western art music, and the musician’s role in contemporary resistance movements in America and Cuba.
“Music is important because it says so much about our culture and us. It expresses who we are, who we think we are and who we want people to think we are. If I can help students gain some insight into the meaning and purpose of people’s music, then I can help them to understand something about people’s culture and maybe about themselves.”
Dr. Mark Butler received his undergraduate degree in Music Education from Florida A&M University, Tallahassee, FL. He holds a M.M.E degree from Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL and a Doctorate degree (DMA), in Choral Conducting from The American Conservatory of Music, Hammond, IND.
Dr. Butler is an Associate Professor of Music and serves as Director of Choral Activities and Studies at Florida A&M University. In addition to conducting the University Concert Choir and other choral ensembles, he also teaches music courses such as; Choral Conducting and Techniques, Class Piano, Applied Voice and African American Music. Butler also serves a choral consultant, and as an adjudicator district and national festivals, NATS vocal competitions, various churches, and conductor for varies Choral Music Festivals & Concerts.
Dr. Butler has presented sessions at the Florida ACDA and has served as clinician and Conductor for Honors Choruses in Florida, Georgia and Honduras. He has conducted major works by Handel, Vivaldi, Brahms and other great composers. Under his direction, his choirs have given stellar performances at major music conferences such as: the Georgia and Florida Music Educators Association, Florida ACDA, William L Dawson Commemorative Festival and the Southeastern African American Choral Festival.
As a composer, he has over 20 published compositions and has commissioned works for music conferences, festivals and various vocal competitions. His compositions are being performed at National and International music events such as the American Choral Director’s Association, Music Conferences and Festivals. Publishers include Hinshaw Music, Colla Voce, Carl Fischer, and “Journey” Publications
He is a member of the American Choral Director’s Association, Music Educator’s National Conference, NATS, American Composer’s Forum and Omega Psi Phi Fraternity.
Butler continues to serve as guest conductor /choral consultant and composer in residence for Region and National Choral Events, Church Workshops, and other Musical involvements throughout the United States.
Joe Williams, M. M. is a sound liberator and arts leader from Tacoma, WA. He serves on the Tacoma Arts Commission and the national DEI committee for Music Teachers National Association. He is an advisory board member of New Music Initiative for Black Voices as well as Ebony Music, Inc. He recently served as Sound Salon’s guest artistic director to create a portrait concert of Brian Raphael Nabors.
His curatorial work has been recognized by the National Endowment for the Arts. He is currently teaching piano and American Music History at Interlochen Arts Camp.
Previous appointments include staff instrumental collaborative pianist at Oberlin Conservatory, coach at Portland Opera, and behavior therapist at Center for Autism and Related Disorders. Williams is currently researching Florence Price's complete keyboard catalogue having been awarded the 2022 Paul Charosh Independent Scholar Fellowship from the Society for American Music.