Dartisha Mosley
Harry T. Burleigh Society
Meet Dartisha Mosley:
Fisk Jubilee Singers®
Tell us about yourself and your musical background.
I grew up in Aurora, IL, the City of Lights. For as long as I could
remember, I was singing. Every opportunity to sing or perform filled me
with excitement, and I was committed. Throughout grade school and high
school, I was a regular participant in talent shows and theatre
productions. At my alma mater, East Aurora High School, I sang with our
honors chorus and became an active member of the Tri-M Music National
Honor Society where I worked to celebrate and bring music to all
students in my district through concerts, plays, and musicals. I
enrolled at Fisk University in the Fall of 2016 and began my first
lessons in Classical Voice and pedagogy under the tutelage of Ms.
Gwendolyn Brown, M.M.
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What made you want to be a member of the Fisk Jubilee Singers®?
When I walked onto the campus of Fisk University, my eyes immediately
caught sight of the beautiful, majestic Jubilee Hall. The Original Fisk
Jubilee Singers selflessly gave their all to sustain their institution
and for scholars like me who would follow after and reap the fruit of
all they endured. When I came to understand the magnitude of their
sacrifice, perseverance, and faith, my heart was moved. I wanted to be a
Fisk Jubilee Singer to continue a rich legacy of love, selflessness,
and music that moves the spirit and soothes the soul. Their sacrifice is
not only encased within the walls of Jubilee Hall, nicknamed “frozen
music,” but also within my heart and in every note I sing.
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What do you hope to learn and experience in your time as a Singer?
Above all, I hope to continue learning about the lives of the original
Fisk Jubilee Singers and to carry on the knowledge of the sacred
Spirituals they revealed to the world through singing. I want to
continue to grow in my musicianship and enjoy my time performing with my
fellow members of this year’s ensemble.
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What are your future plans?
During
my time at Fisk
University, I have
found grounding in the
disciplines
of English
and Music with
concentration in Voice.
As a dual major, I am
able to weave these
two art forms
together and find a
deeper
understanding
of the music that speaks to
a particular people or
cultural group. After
finding my passion for
Ethnomusicology and
Vocal
performance,
my educational and
professional goals are
focused
towards earning
a Ph. D. and branding
myself in the field
of professional
vocal
performance. As a
first-generation student,
the opportunity to
study
at an institution of higher
learning is unique in
the history of
my
family. Through
perseverance and
determination, I held
onto my dreams
of
being all I can be. Fisk
has made it possible
for me to reach
heights I could have
never foreseen.
Fisk Jubilee Singers® Sing
Harry T. Burleigh Spirituals
March 2nd 2019
Zankel Hall, Carnegie Hall
7:30pm
The Harry T. Burleigh Society
and the Fisk Jubilee
Singers® join in a historic
performance celebrating
Ella Sheppard (1851–
1915), an original Fisk
Jubilee Singer, and Harry
T. Burleigh (1866–1949),
leaders of the concert
spiritual tradition. The
Fisk Jubilee Singers®
will perform the music
of these under-heard
cultural leaders, and
make calls for freedom.
More Than the Promise of the
American Myth: Rethinking
Burleigh & Sheppard
in the Second Gilded Age
March 3rd, 2019
May Room - Weill Terrace Room, Carnegie Hall
9am - 3pm
The Harry
T. Burleigh Society's
first academic conference
considers Burleigh's
and
Sheppard's impact on the
concert spiritual genre, the
historiographic limits of
composer biography, Black
art music
aesthetics,
and the liberatory
capabilities within the
work of Burleigh,
Sheppard, and their
contemporaries. Dr.
Daphne Brooks will
deliver the
keynote
address. Other
speakers include
Dr. Louise Toppin,
baritone
Kenneth
Overton, Dr. Crystal
deGregory and
descendants of
Burleigh and
Sheppard.
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