Edmond Dédé and Morgiane

As Founder and Artistic Director of the award-winning OperaCréole, Givonna Joseph’s research on 19th-century New Orleans free classical and operatic composers of color and Creole history and heritage was recently featured on NBC Nightly News, NPR, and in magazines such as Black Enterprise,  64 Parishes, and Atlas Obscura. Previous cover articles include BreakThru Media Magazine and NOLA Boomers magazine.

Since 2011, the international soloist, arts integration specialist, and university lecturer, along with her daughter, Aria Mason, OperaCréole co-founder, has received several honors for mounting lost or rarely heard operas by composers of color.

Nevilla E. Ottley-Adjahoe is the founder of the Ottley Music School (OMS), established in 1973, eighteen months after she graduated with her Master of Arts in organ performance and music history from Andrews University in Michigan, where she had earned her Bachelor of Music in Music Education and Piano Performance. Ottley produced and hosted “Classics of Ebony” a one-hour weekly show on WGTS 91.9 fm from 1976-1997 on classical music composed by Black composers, and also music performed by Black artists in the classical styles.

Mali Irene (aka Malesha Taylor Browning) is a versatile vocal artist, composer, curator and educator.  Her work spans from traditional and contemporary opera to experimental improvisation and cross-disciplinary public art.  In traditional opera she has performed and covered principal roles with Los Angeles Opera in the productions of Don Carlo, Manon, Il Trittico: Sour Angelica and Porgy and Bess.  She has also performed as Adalgisa in Norma with Union Avenue Opera and the role of Annie in Francesca Zambello’s filmed production of Porgy and Bess with San Francisco Opera. Among concert work, she has performed with the Boston Pops Orchestra, American Symphony Orchestra at Lincoln Center, Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, Pacific Symphony Orchestra to name a few.

Soprano Millicent Scarlett, originally from Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, continues to display her musical artistry with “a powerful and juicy voice” on concert stages throughout Canada and the USA. Millicent recently returned to her Alma Mater The University of Maryland where she performed a mini recital at the President’s House, and reprised her role of Ida B. Wells in the new audiobook version of 19: The Musical that was heard on Audible and other sites.

Dana Nichole Scott is a classically trained musician with a talent and passion for creating dynamic music. Ms. Scott works in operatic and musical theater productions, but also leads choral and instrumental ensembles. As a vocal coach and collaborative pianist, Ms. Scott enjoys working with singers. She accompanies for competitions and recitals. Her favorite musical engagements are choral competitions, whether she is competing or adjudicating. Ms. Scott began developing her musical career at a young age. Before Ms. Scott realized that music was the career she wanted, she won several competitions and had the opportunity to explore her skills as a musical Disney cast member. In pursuit of a her musical career, Ms. Scott studied at New England Conservatory where she earned her Bachelor of Music in Piano Performance. She received her Master of Music in Collaborative Piano from the Peabody Institute at Johns Hopkins University.