105 Voices of History

Regional Conductors

Northern Region

Mr. Jeremy Scott Winston, Ray Charles Distinguished Chair, Director of Choral Activities, Wilberforce University, Northern Region

Jeremy Scott Winston, a native of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, serves as the Ray Charles Distinguished Chair of Sacred and Choral Music at Wilberforce University. Appointed to this position by former congressman, Floyd H. Flake, at the early age of twenty-four, Jeremy sought out to recreate the nation’s oldest Historically Black College music program to become a haven for multi-talented musicians. Jeremy has taken huge strides in this direction over the past four years of his appointment to this distinguished position. Breathing life anew into the fledgling program, Jeremy has increased enrollment of music majors over 700%, hired four world-class faculty members, put students in touch with renowned musicians including Kathleen Battle, Adolphus Hailstork, Donnie McClurkin, Rachelle Ferrell, Take6, and more. As the conductor and director of The Award-Winning Wilberforce University Choir, Jeremy has taken this ensemble to new heights. After being hailed as “The Best Collegiate Choir” and “The Best Overall Choir” by The National Association of Negro Musicians (NANM; oldest African-American music association) in October of 2005, The Choir has been in high demand throughout the country. Regularly performing in New York, NY; Baltimore, MD; Detroit, MI; Los Angeles, CA; and Las Vegas, NV; this choir is poised to begin the ‘next big thing’ in choral music. In October of 2006, Jeremy made history with the University by arranging and conducting The Choir on the title track of the major motion picture Amazing Grace with gospel vocalist, Chris Tomlin. Beginning to spread his wings in the local community, Jeremy sits on the Board of Trustees for The Dayton Opera Company and Unified Health Solutions. A current resident of the Maryland area, Mr. Winston recently appeared as guest conductor of The New England Youth Ensemble and The Nouve Camerata in a full performance of Handel's "Messiah". Traveling as a tenor soloist, Mr. Winston performed with the UCLA Chamber Orchestra and in Los Angeles, California in December 2003 and in January 2004, with the Morgan State University Choir in a visit to Saint Petersburg, Russia.

Mr. Winston is married to the former Angelique Samuel of Queens, New York and is the proud father of his five-month-old Jordyn Sherell Winston. Through hard work, discipline, love of music and love of God, Mr. Winston is preparing one of America's oldest African American collegiate ensembles to emerge as one of the nation's top vocal ensembles.

Dr. Eric Conway, Director of Choral Activities, Morgan State University, Northern Region

Eric Conway is currently the Director of the Morgan State University Choir as well as Chairperson of the Fine Arts Department. He has served as Associate Conductor and principal accompanist for the Morgan State University Choir for the past twenty years under the leadership of the late Nathan Carter.

He received his Doctor of Musical Arts Degree from the Peabody Conservatory of the Johns Hopkins University where he majored in Piano Performance and minored in Conducting. While at the Peabody, Conway was a recipient of the prestigious Liberace Scholarship, as well as a winner in the Yale Gordon Concerto Competition where earned the honor of playing Rachmaninoff’s 2nd Piano Concerto with the Peabody Symphony Orchestra.

Some of his significant accomplishments as pianist include, a tour of Eastern Africa, sponsored by the United States Information Agency. One of the highlights of the tour was a solo performance for Madagascan television and radio. He has performed as soloist with several orchestras including, Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Baltimore Chamber Orchestra, Baltimore Concert Artists, Johns Hopkins Symphony Orchestra, Georgetown University Orchestra, and the Millbrook Orchestra in Shepardstown, West Virginia. In January, 2006 he performed Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. 5 with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra at the Meyerhoff Symphony Hall to wide acclaim.

Dr. Conway is also sought after as a collaborative artist. He has worked with several leading artists including Trevor Wye, Hillary Hahn, Daniel Heifetz, William Brown, Janice Chandler, to name a few. He is also an orchestral pianist for the Baltimore Symphony. In 1994 and 1997, he toured with the orchestra to Eastern Asia.

Dr. Conway’s choral accomplishments include working closely with some of the greatest conductors of the 20th Century including Robert Shaw, Sir Nevelle Mariner, and Donald Neuen. In 2001, he was chorusmaster for the Baltimore Symphony Chorus’ performance of the Verdi Requiem. He travels around the mid-Atlantic area giving Choral Master Classes and workshops for Collegiate and High School levels. In June of 2006, Dr. Conway was Chorusmaster for performances of Mahler Symphony #2, ending the tenure of Baltimore Symphony’s music director, Yuri Temirkanov.

Most recently, he conducted the forces of both the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra and Soulful Symphony in the Meyerhoff Hall’s Annual Martin Luther King Concert. In addition to his musical accomplishments, he holds degrees in both Accounting and Business Management and is also a Certified Public Accountant.

Dr. Conway is married to Bessie Elizabeth Conway, and they are blessed to have three sons, Eric, Jr.; Christopher; and Ryan.

Southern Region

Dr. Wayne A. Barr, Director of Choral Activities, Tuskegee University, Southern Region

Wayne A. Barr is Director of Choral Activities at Tuskegee University. He earned degrees in church music and choral conducting from Westminster Choir College (B.M.), Southern Methodist University (M.M., M.S.M.), and The University of Michigan (D.M.A.). He has served as organist and choir director at churches in Alabama, Michigan, New Jersey and Texas. Before coming to Tuskegee University, Mr. Barr was Director of Music at the historic Hartford Memorial Baptist Church in Detroit, Michigan, and instructor of music at William Tyndale College in Farmington Hills, Michigan.

Dr. Grover Wilson, Director of Choral Activities,North Carolina Central University, Southern Region

Grover Wilson, Jr. (M.A.), noted musician, choral director, clinician, adjudicator, writer and arranger, is a member of the distinguished music faculty at North Carolina Central University. Mr. Wilson also serves as Director of the NCCU Jubilee Singers, and Music Director for NCCU Spirit, a recruitment performance group. Since his faculty appointment in 1985, he has served in various roles in choral music including accompanist and assistant director. He was appointed Director of Choral Activities for the university in 2002 and served in that capacity until 2008.

He holds degrees in Music and Education from NCCU and has done post-graduate studies in music and education at Georgia State University, UNC-Greensboro, NC and Duke University in Durham, NC. Mr. Wilson studied advanced conducting with Dr. Rod Eichenburger in the summer of 2008.

A former public school teacher, Mr. Wilson taught in Durham County (NC), Chapel Hill-Carrboro (NC), and served as Area III Music Supervisor and Specialist in Atlanta (GA) Public Schools. He also served as Music Instructor and Choral Director at Durham College and taught piano privately in Durham and Pittsboro, NC.

Mr. Wilson has concertized throughout the United States and the U.S. Virgin Islands. He has performed with the North Carolina Symphony, the Durham Symphony Orchestra, in Carnegie Hall with the New Harlem Symphony Orchestra and the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, DC. He returned to Carnegie Hall in a debut concert as accompanist for Mezzo Soprano Sandy Thomas.

In 2007, Mr. Wilson had the distinct honor of conducting Mozart’s Requiem with the Durham Symphony Orchestra in an “Evening of Classical Music”. This event included the vocal talents of the North Carolina Central University Choirs, the Duke Chapel Choir and the Vocal Arts Ensemble of Durham.

He is a member of the American Choral Directors’ Association (ACDA), National Collegiate Choral Organization (NCOO), holds honorary membership in Alpha Psi Omega Service Fraternity, and a member of the Board of Directors of the Daphne M. Lennon Memorial Scholarship Foundation.

A church musician for more than 46 years, he has served in numerous capacities in music ministry.

Ms. Valerie Johnson, Director of Choral Activities, Bennett College for Women, Southern Region

Ms. Valerie Johnson, Conductor of the Bennett College Choir, holds the Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance from the University of Southern Mississippi and the Master of Music in Vocal Performance from Howard University. She has performed as vocal soloist in Alaska, Manchester and London, England; Tono, Japan; Trinidad, West Indies; the Kennedy Center in its Young Artist Series, and she has done research on vocal health at the famed Bowman Gray School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC. In addition to her performances, she is a vocal clinician and producer. She conducted and produced four Bennett College Choir CD’s including the compact disc recording Raising our voices in celebration featuring Dr. Johnnetta B. Cole reading the poetry of Mari Evans. Under her leadership, the choir was featured at the Vocal Extravaganza “in Black” in Las Vegas, Nevada and has performed for Oprah Winfrey, Coretta Scott King, Bill Clinton, Maya Angelou, Andrew Young, Jessie Jackson, Bill Gates, Sr. and Judge Glenda Hatchett to name a few.

She has also served as vocal coach/producer for other classical and gospel artists. Ms. Johnson captured a wide audience as a producer of the compact disc recording “Ain’t-a-that Good News” featuring tenor Richard Heard. In addition to other recordings, she is featured on several compact disc recording including the newly released Alaskan Project, which includes one of her choral arrangements.

Ms. Johnson is the recipient of many outstanding awards, including the “the First Lady of Song of Bennett College” presented by the Faculty Senate. She was also awarded the National Alumnae Association Faculty Service Award; the ”Women in the Arts” achievement award, awarded by the City of Greensboro’s Commission on the status of Women; and the “Excellence in Music” award, presented by Bennett College. Ms. Johnson is a versatile musician who has made a strong, positive impact upon her students at Bennett.

Southwest Region

Dr. Gloria Quinlan, Director of Choral Activities, Huston-Tillotson University, Southwest Region

Gloria Harrison Quinlan, a native of Houston, Texas, received the Bachelor of Music Education degree in Voice from Texas Southern University, the Master of Music in Voice from Colorado State University in Fort Collins, Colorado and the Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Voice from The University of Texas at Austin. She has significant experience in teaching voice, conducting choirs, and administering a music department on the college and university level. After a position as Assistant Professor of Music at Knoxville College in Knoxville, Tennessee, she was Associate Professor of Music at the University of the Virgin Islands, St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands, and is presently Professor of Music and Chair of the Humanities and Fine Arts Department at Huston-Tillotson University, Austin, Texas.

Dr. Gloria Quinlan has enjoyed success as a performer, in opera, as a soloist with ensembles, and as a recitalist, throughout the United States and the Caribbean. Significant performances include: soprano soloist in a performance of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony with the Caribbean Chorale and Puerto Rico Symphony; soprano soloist with the Austin Civic Chorus and Symphonietta, the Capitol City Men’s Chorus, Austin Singers in a performance of the Brahms Requiem and just recently recorded with the Trombone Choir of The Butler School of Music, University of Texas at Austin. She has also performed with the Scott Joplin Orchestra of Houston, Texas.

Dr. Quinlan has also received acclaim as a choral conductor. She founded the University Concert Choir at the University of the Virgin Islands, St. Thomas, VI. Her choir at Huston-Tillotson University performed for President Jimmy Carter. President George W. Bush invited the Huston-Tillotson Choir to perform at the opening of the Texas State Museum (a performance broadcast nationwide). Dr. Quinlan was also selected as the choir conductor for the Lady Bird Johnson funeral service.

She studied voice with Ruth Stewart (Texas Southern University), Larry Day (Colorado State University) and the late Martha Deatherage (University of Texas), and coached with Gerard Souzay, the late Darryl Hobson-Byrd and the late David Garvey. Dr. Quinlan studied choral conducting with the late Ruthabel Rollins at TSU.

Honors include the Danforth Compton Fellowship, Graduate Opportunity Fellowship, and a Graduate Scholarship Award from General Conference, Seventh Day Adventist Church. She also received the Fine Arts Award as an outstanding Music Educator by the National Sorority of Phi Delta Kappa, Inc., Delta Beta Chapter, and the Outstanding Achievement in Fine Arts award from the National Women of Achievement, Inc. She is a member of the National Association of Teachers of Singing, Music Educators National Conference, Texas Music Educators Conference, American Choral Directors Association and Texas Choral Directors Association. Dr. Quinlan is also a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.

Dr. Quinlan and husband Quincy Quinlan. make their home in Austin, Texas with their son Mykal.

Southeast Region

Mr. Willenham Cortez Castilla, Director of Choral Activities, Jackson State University, Southeast Region

Mr. Willenham Cortez Castilla serves as Instructor of Music and Director of Choral Activities, having joined the faculty in 1994. He received the B. A. degree from Millsaps College and the M.A. degree from Fisk University. He is pursuing the doctorate degree at The University of Mississippi, in Oxford, Mississippi. He came to Jackson State University from Provine High School where his choirs and ensembles (SATB, TTBB, SSA Choir, Sextet, Quartet and Madrigal) received superior ratings in festival presentation at local, district, state and national competitions. He has also served as choral director in the Meridian Public Schools. For nearly ten years, he was Music Supervisor with the U.S. Department of Interior Bureau of Indian Affairs. He is active in several professional organizations including ACDA, MENC, NATS, MTNA, MTA, and NEA. The JSU choral ensembles have maintained high standards of choral excellence through the years and Castilla continues this tradition. Under his leadership, the JSU Chorale has been featured in two PBS Specials in Las Vegas, NV, several performances with the Mississippi Chorus and Mississippi Symphony, featured choir for the Organist Guild State Concert, and a command performance for National Transportation Civil Rights Conference. The Choir performed for the American Guild of Organists’ Southeastern Regional Convention and recently toured Milan, Verona, Venice, and Rome, Italy in 2007. The Chorale continues a tradition of touring the United States through its annual Spring Tour. Mr. Castilla is an ordained minister in the Church of Christ (Holiness) USA and serves as National Minister of Music for the Churches of Christ (Holiness) USA. He is married to Mrs. Kathy Castilla and they have four children, William, Isaiah, Kathlyn, and Matthew.

National Choral Director

Mr. Royzell L. Dillard, National Choral Director, Hampton University

Royzell L. Dillard is a native of Tennessee. Born in Nashville, then later moving to Memphis, Dillard was exposed to his first musical experiences in the public schools of Nashville and the A.M.E. church. He is currently the director of University Choirs and an assistant professor of music in the Department of Music at Hampton University. He is a graduate of Hampton Institute/University with degrees in psychology and music education. He has studied conducting, music history, voice and educational psychology at the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music, The Catholic University School of Music, and at Memphis State University respectively. Currently, he is engaged in doctoral study at Shenandoah Conservatory in Winchester, VA.


National Student Advisor
Mr. Damon Dandridge, Director of Choral Activities, Cheyney University
	Prof. Damon H. Dandridge is currently the Director of Choral Activities at Cheyney University. He holds the Master of Music degree in Choral Conducting from The Florida State University and the Bachelor of Music Education degree in Choral Music/Voice from South Carolina State University with additional studies at Boston University. Prof. Dandridge has had the esteemed pleasure of working with some of the most influential African-American composers of our time including Dr. Brazeal W. Dennard, Dr. Roland M. Carter, Dr. André J. Thomas, and the late Mr. Moses G. Hogan. As an artist, Dandridge’s choral arrangements have been met with worldwide acclaim. From across the United States to Korea, Australia, and Italy, his pieces have been featured at various all-state festivals and international festivals. Prof. Dandridge was the 2003 winner of the National Association of Negro Musician’s Brantley Choral Arranging competition. Dandridge is a member of many organizations including ACDA, NANM, Phi Mu Alpha, and Kappa Alpha Psi, Fraternity, Inc. He joined the Cheyney family in 2005.

Mr. Marcus Rhodes, Director of Choral Activities, Florida A&M University

Marcus Rhodes is the conductor of the University Choir, and coordinator of vocal studies at Grambling State University. Mr. Rhodes is a member of the National Association of Teachers of Singing, the National Association of Negro Musicians, the Music Educator’s National Conference, and other professional music associations. He earned the Bachelor of Arts Degree in music from Grambling State University and the Master of Music Performance Degree at the University of Louisiana at Monroe. He has conducted university ensembles at Louisiana Tech University, the University of Louisiana at Monroe, and Grambling State University. Mr. Rhodes was included in the Marquis Who’s Who Amongst University Educators in 2007.