Randye Jones

Biography

Randye Jones is a performer, scholar, and educator currently serving as a research librarian at Grinnell College in Iowa. She specializes in the research and performance of concert Spirituals composed for solo vocalists. She has lectured and performed in venues throughout the country, and recently published the book So You Want to Sing Spirituals, in collaboration with the National Association of Teachers of Singing. In the book, used extensively for our background research, Randye explores the origin of spirituals and their transformation to choral and solo vocal concert repertoire. She also profiles key composers and pioneers of the genre while discussing the use of dialect and other controversial performance considerations. Her other work includes The Spirituals Database, a searchable database of spirituals with over 4,000 entries, and Afrovoices.com, a website with comprehensive profiles of several African American performers and composers, as well as suggestions and resources for continuing your own education. For more information on Randye and her work, visit her website here.

"My goal...is to create easily accessible resources out of the materials that have taken me decades to gather myself."

-Randye Jones

Takeways

Do not seek permission to sing spirituals. Feel the obligation to do so.
Mastering the art of singing concert spirituals is as important for a performer's development as the study of any other style of singing. If a student is studying for an M.M. or similar music degree, they have an obligation to study, program, and perform this music, regardless of their personal background. Performers must include a diverse body of works and styles within their repertoire, if only to protect the assertion that they are an experienced, knowledgeable interpreter of art song.
To that end, the spiritual has influenced American music so heavily that it's nearly impossible to find an area that hasn't been at least indirectly affected. As an American musician, you need to have contact with spirituals in order to build a deeper understanding of how other musics have developed.

"I don't care whether you're black or white...I want you to have a thorough understanding of vocal music."

"The fact that you are not African American does not excuse you from having that contact."

Spirituals should be used to teach. Technical, artistic, cultural skills are as necessary and as teachable therein as they are in any other genre of art song. Program pieces for their educational value, not simply because they check a box for inclusion or diversity.
Students can be easily discouraged when studying this material because it's not readily accessible. The book So You Want to Sing Spirituals is designed to be that previously unavailable first contact -- placed in a library, it can serve as a jumping off point for students looking to learn more. From there, materials may be harder to find, but students and teachers are more willing to look because the book affirms that they exist at all.

Recommended Listening

Were You There | Roland Hayes

Deep River | H. T Burleigh

We can't stress enough how helpful this book is. So You Want to Sing Spirituals can be found in the St. Olaf music library and offers fantastic essays on the history and performance practice of spirituals within the American art song canon. It's invaluable for students, teachers, and performers alike.

For more information we encourage you to explore Randye Jones's website and related work here.

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