JHU Black Heritage Month Celebration

Dr. Marco K. Merrick

Chief of Equity and Environmental Justice

The Baltimore City Department of Public Works

For 40 years, Marco K. Merrick has served in music ministry. A Baltimore native, he began piano studies at 8 years old at Peabody Conservatory of Music and subsequently in the studios of Pearl Evans, Charlotte Arbelotta, Audrey McCallum and Christina Luperini. Local churches include Shiloh Christian Community, Edgewood UMC, Metropolitan UMC, Adams Chapel A.M.E, First Baptist and Douglas Memorial Community Churches.

 

The Founding Director of the Community Concert Choir of Baltimore, Inc., Marco is deeply committed to preserving the sacred music of the African American Church. Dr. Merrick is a member of the Choir Directors and Organists Guild of the Hampton Ministers Conference and Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia, the nation’s oldest music fraternity. Marco is a life member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., past president of Delta Lambda Chapter and member of the Alpha Chorale and National Chorus. He’s a member of the Pi Eta Chapter of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia, the President’s Committee for the Morgan State University Choir, past chair of the Bannister, Lewis, Tanner Circle at the Walters Art Museum, & The Ashe’ Circle at the Reginald F. Lewis Museum.

 

Mr. Merrick holds a Masters of Arts degree in Publication Design from the University of Baltimore’s School of Communications Design and a Bachelor of Science degree in Mass Communication (Public Relations) from Towson University. He continues to receive numerous awards and commendations, including an honorary Doctoral Degree in Sacred Music from Eastern Theological Seminary.

Morgan State

Gospel Choir

Morgan State University

The Morgan State University Choir is one of the nation’s most prestigious university choral ensembles. The choral forces of this critically acclaimed choir include The University Choir, which is over 120 voices strong, and The Morgan Singers – approximately 40 voices. While classical, gospel, and contemporary popular music comprise the choir’s repertoire; the choir is noted for its emphasis on preserving the heritage of the spiritual, especially in the historic practices of performance.

The Morgan State University Choir has performed for audiences throughout the United States and all over the world – including every continent except for Antarctica! One of the Choir’s most historic moments came with the opportunity to sing under the baton of Robert Shaw, conducting the Orchestra of St. Lukes and joined by Jessye Norman and others in Carnegie Hall’s One Hundredth Birthday Tribute to Marian Anderson.

Since 2017, the Morgan State University choir has toured, Cuba, Spain, Portugal, Austria, Slovakia, Germany, England, Scotland, Wales, Peru, Ecuador, and Galapagos Islands. In December 2021, the choir sang a concerts in Hawaii, to commemorate the eightieth anniversary of the bombing of Pearl Harbor.

The Morgan State University Choir has shared its musical gifts on many grand stages all over the world – with numerous dignitaries and celebrated performers – making them cultural ambassadors for Morgan State University, the City of Baltimore, the State of Maryland and the United States.

Jasmine ÔÇ£JazzieÔÇØ Pigott

Doctor of Musical Arts, Tuba, 2024 (She/They)

Peabody Institute

jasminepigott.com

Jasmine “Jazzie” Pigott is a tuba player, composer, podcaster, and writer based in Baltimore, MD. Believing in the power of representation, Jasmine is a solo performer on a mission to empower the next generation of musicians of color. She has placed in numerous solo competitions, including first place in Peabody’s Yale Gordon Competition and bronze in the Leonard Falcone Tuba Student Competition, and has released her EP in July 2022, Revolution. Jasmine is a co-founder and on the board of directors for the Chromatic Brass Collective. Outside of music, Jasmine is a certified personal trainer and runs a blog and podcast, Harmony and Healing, centered around health and wellness for musicians. She holds degrees from Ithaca College (B.M.) and Michigan State University (M.M.) and is working on her DMA in tuba performance at the Peabody Conservatory at Johns Hopkins.

Hannah Davis

Master of Music, Vocal Performance, 2024 (She/Her)

Peabody Institute

Hailing from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, skilled coloratura soprano, Hannah Davis began her operatic studies at the Canady College of Creative Arts at West Virginia University. Her talents have also covered the world of jazz musical theatre and she has held several lead roles. Her collegiate debut as “Noemie” in Massenet’s Cendrillon sealed her future as a lyric coloratura soprano. She then went on to participate in the Dominique Laffont Metropolitan Opera Competition in the fall of 2021 and proceeded to the districts level. Currently in pursuit of her master's at the Peabody Institiute at Johns Hopkins University, she is studying with esteemed baritone Dr. Carl Dupont. She was named the first-place winner of 2022 Peabody Artsong Competition and won the award for Outstanding Performance of a work by an African American composer.  In the future, she hopes to open her own institute of music for Black children in underprivileged areas.  

Lady Brion

Baltimore Voices

https://www.ladybrion.com/

Lady Brion is an international spoken word artist, curator, activist, organizer, educator and the executive director of the Pennsylvania Avenue Black Arts and Entertainment District. During her slam career she and her team has won several national competitions. Most recently she became the Women of the World Poetry Slam Champion.

Rahz├® Cheatham

Master of Music, Vocal Performance, 2024 (They/Them)

Peabody Institute

http://rahze.com

Holding degrees from the Peabody Conservatory of the Johns Hopkins University, baritone Rahzé Cheatham is praised as a “wonderfully sensitive” performer with “crystalline diction”. A new and contemporary classical music artist in both concert and operatic repertoire, they have been featured in numerous projects, including opera scenes, oratorios, concerts, workshops, and gallery exhibitions. In addition to hosting a private voice studio of beginner, intermediate, and advanced students across multiple genres, they currently maintain teaching positions at the Baltimore School for the Arts and the Baltimore School of Music, as well as a composition residency at St. David’s Episcopoal Church

Ui-Seng Francois

Bachelor of Fine Arts, Dance, 2023 (She/Her)

Peabody Institute

uisengfrancois.com

Ui-Seng François (she/her) is a multidisciplinary Artist from Baltimore City, Maryland who strives to create work as a means for social healing. Her artistic disciplines include dance, acting, film, photography, and creative direction. She has performed professionally on Broadway in the 2020 revival of West Side Story in New York City as well as across the Baltimore area at Everyman Theatre, Baltimore Centerstage, The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra and Motor house, in addition to producing her own projects. Ui-Seng is a graduate of the Baltimore School for the Arts Theatre program (2018) and is currently pursuing a BFA in dance at the Peabody Conservatory of The Johns Hopkins University. Learn more about Ui-Seng and her work at uisengfrancois.com.

Jade Abner-Gilmore

Bachelor of Fine Arts, Dance, 2026 (She/Her)

Peabody Institute