| Job: |
Alexander Twilight Artist in Residence |
| Hometown: |
New York City, originally from Birmingham, Alabama |
| Favorites: |
Dropping in at Fire and Ice for a special meal |
| One thing I am: |
Founder of the Harlem Spiritual Ensemble |
On one of my first trips to the College, I did three days of concerts for the local school children. The buses were lined up in the CFA parking lot, and they just kept coming. The Harlem Spiritual Ensemble was with me, my pianist from New York was here, and my drummer. We felt so appreciated.
I myself am a little bit outside the box. I look around, and sometimes see where there’s a vacuum, and I say, “What can Middlebury do?” For example, if you are in Boston or New York City, you have a huge St. Patrick’s Day parade and other things that acknowledge the great contribution in our society from Irish people. But there was none of that at Middlebury. So four years ago, I started an Irish concert for St. Patrick’s Day.
In New York City, I think the white people wouldn’t have stood for the fact that a black guy was doing an Irish concert every year. But up here, nobody raised a question, they just started showing up.
I’m a different face of Middlebury. People see a black face. They see an openly gay person, who dresses very colorfully. I think I bring fun and a certain artistic commitment. Mine is grass-roots artistry. I don’t see myself as separated from the community. I produce the local TV show Studio 104, with student interns, to bring the arts to local audiences. I sing for the American Legion, the Rotary Club, the counseling service when they have a fund-raiser, the Language Schools. Every December the Congregational Church puts on a huge community Messiah, and I sing the tenor solos. That’s the way I give to this community, and I am very, very happy.