Join Janice Gilyard and Cherekana Feliciano for a conversation with Conductor, Vocalist,and Composer, Emorja Roberson regarding his journey to research, document, and share his family history. Emorja Roberson graduated from the University of North Florida with a Bachelor of Music degree in Vocal Performance, where he studied with Krzysztof Biernacki. In 2019, Roberson served as the choir director for Kathleen Battle's The Underground Railroad: A Spiritual Journey tour with the DeBartolo Performing Arts Center at the University of Notre Dame. He was awarded with the 2021 Academic Freedom Award from the Department of Africana Studies and is the recipient of the 2022 Sr. Jean Lenz Award for his leadership that promotes a more diverse, inclusive campus community for all students. BE-SPOKEN, his most recent oratorio, highlights the experiences of the Black experience through jazz, hip-hop, and gospel. The premiere included artists, such as, Anthony Walker, King Chav, HarRell D. Young, Donishisa Ballard, and Grammy-Award winner, Ledisi. In June 2022, Roberson became the first African-American to graduate with a Doctor of Musical Arts in Choral Conducting from the Sacred Music Department at the University of Notre Dame. He is now the Assistant Professor of Music and African American Studies at the Oxford College of Emory University. One of his interests is family history which certainly caught our attention! If you fail to try, you forfeit the opportunity to see your strength. If you forfeit to test your strength, you fail to grow. If you fail to grow, you will never experience the full capacity of your talent.  By Emorja G. Roberson www.emorjaroberson.com

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