Presenters and Panelists

Dr. Ysaye M. Barnwell is a native of New York, now living in Washington, DC where since 1979, she has performed with the internationally acclaimed a cappella quintet, SWEET HONEY IN THE ROCK. She is a vocalist with a range of over three octaves and appears on more than twenty-five recordings with Sweet Honey as well as other artists. In her first year with Sweet Honey, she provided leadership in making the group's concerts accessible to the Deaf and hard-of-hearing through Sign Language interpretation. The daughter of a violinist, Dr. Barnwell began her 15 year study of the violin with her father at the age of 2 ½. She holds the Bachelor and Master of Science degrees in Speech Pathology (1967, 1968 SUNY, Geneseo), the Doctor of Philosophy in cranio-Facial Studies (1975 Univ. of Pittsburgh) and the Master of Science in Public Health (1981 Howard University, Washington, DC) and the (Honorary) Doctor of Humane Letters (1998 SUNY, Geneseo). She has been a professor at the College of Dentistry at Howard University, and in addition to conducting community based projects in computer technology and in the arts, she has administered and implemented health programs at Children's Hospital National Medical Center and at Gallaudet University in Washington, DC.

After coming to Washington, DC, Dr. Barnwell founded and for three years directed the All Souls Jubilee Singers where she began composing and arranging music for vocal ensembles. Barnwell composed and arranged music on more than 14 recordings on labels including Flying Fish, EarthBeat!/Warner, Music For Little People and Rykodisc/Palm Pictures, Sony Classical. She has worked as a commissioned composer on numerous and varied projects including Sesame Street, Dance Alloy of Pittsburgh, David Rousseve's Reality Dance Company, Liz Lerman Dance Exchange, Women's Philharmonic of San Francisco, Redwood Cultural Work, The New Spirituals Project , The Steel Festival of Bethlehem, PA, The Plymouth Music Series and numerous choirs - all outgrowths of her combined understanding of creative arts inextricably bound to society. For twenty years now, Barnwell has conducted THE WORKSHOP: Building a Vocal Community - Singing In the African American Tradition where throughout the United States, Canada, Great Britain and Australia she has utilized African and African American history, values, cultural and vocal traditions to worked with singers and non-singers alike. Barnwell is an actress whose credits include voice-overs, documentary film narration, a principle role in an episode of the TV show 'A Man Called Hawk', and an appearance in the film BELOVED directed by Jonathan Demme. Professional association memberships include, NARAS (National Association of Recording Arts and Sciences), SAG (Screen Actors Guild), AFTRA (American Federation of Television and Radio Artists), Local 1000 of the North American Traveling Musicians Union, SAW (Songwriters' Association of Washington).

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