Chicago Community Chorus
OUR CONDUCTORS
Keith T Hampton
Artistic Director/Founder
Keith Hampton, affectionately known as “Doc”, is the Founder and Artistic Director of the Chicago Community Chorus (CCC). In addition, Dr. Hampton is an organ performer, conductor, composer, educator, church musician, adjudicator, and workshop clinician. He is the president of Dr. KT Productions, Inc., Chicago, Illinois. Keith and the Director of Music/Organist at St. Thomas Episcopal Church.
Classically trained as an organist and conductor, he has served as Music Director/organist-choir director of Hillcrest Baptist Church in Country Club Hills, Illinois; Wesley United Methodist Church, Aurora, Illinois; Bryn Mawr Community Church; Congregational Church of Park Manor; Park Manor Christian Church, and Assistant Director of Music at Trinity United Church of Christ, all in Chicago.
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A specialist in the field of Gospel Music, the North Central American Choral Directors Association in 2010 selected Dr. Keith Hampton as one of the top 25 Contemporary Composers “whose composition, Praise His Holy Name, should be standard repertoire for choirs today and for the next 25 years.” Dr. Hampton has guest conducted the, ACDA Eastern Division High School Honors Choir, Alabama All State Junior High School Honors Chorus, Baltimore All County High School, Georgia All State Collegiate Chorus, Ithaca College Gospel Festival, Oklahoma All State Junior High School Honors Choir, Rhode Island All State Chorus, Virginia All State Honors Choir, Wisconsin All State Middle Level Chorus and District Choruses in Illinois, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Wisconsin.
Keith Hampton earned a Bachelor of Music Education Degree from Westminster Choir College, a Master of Arts Degree from Marywood University, and a Doctor of Music Degree in Church Music from Northwestern University. Dr. Hampton has been awarded the Service Playing, Choir Master, and Associate certificates from the American Guild of Organists.
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Dr. Hampton was twice chosen as one of 14 conductors to participate in the Oregon Bach Festival Conducting Master Classes. The festival is held at the University of Oregon under the direction of Helmuth Rilling and Thomas Somerville. He also was chosen to conduct in an A Cappella Music workshop sponsored by Chorus America. In the summer of 2013, Dr. Hampton participated in the Choral Conducting Symposium held at the University of Michigan under the direction of Jerry Blackstone, Julie Skadsem and Eugene Rogers.
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At Dr. KT Productions, Inc., Keith provides music transcriptions of Black Gospel Music with the use of Finale by Make Music. He produced the CD, Celebrate, in 2009, and published the book, Praise His Holy Name … And Other Songs in the Gospel Style, in 2011. In 2012, Dr. Hampton produced two organ CDs, Organ Masterworks, Volume I and French Organ Music, Volume II. As a published composer, Dr. Hampton’s arrangements of Spirituals and Gospel Songs are available through Augsburg Fortress Press, Choristers Guild, earthsongs Publications, Hal Leonard Corporation, Hinshaw Music, and Dr. KT Productions, Inc.
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Additional information about Keith Hampton’s musical activities can be viewed at www.drkeithhampton.com.
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Brandon M. Brown
Conductor
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Brandon Brown has a passion for music that shines throughout his performances. He has been a featured soloist and conductor with the Celestial Evangel Choir in Kumasi and Accra, Ghana, and Prague. In addition to opera roles, Mr. Brown has performed the baritone solos in Beethoven’s 9th Symphony, and Mass in C Major, Parker’s A Sermon from the Mountain, Verdi’s Requiem, Brahms’ Requiem, Dubois’ Seven Last Words, Handel’s Messiah, Mendelssohn’s Elijah, Linda Twine’s Changed My Name, Fauré’s Requiem, and Mechem’s Songs of the Slave. Brandon has performed with the Beloit Janesville Symphony Orchestra, the Chicago Modern Orchestra Project, College of DuPage, the South Shore Opera Company of Chicago, American Chamber Opera, Main Street Opera, Katydid Opera Productions, and chorus master for Show-Me Opera. He served as the Music Director and Project Manager of the Chicago Community Chorus, Minister of Music at Church of the Good Shepherd, and Music Coordinator at Columbia United Church of Christ.
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Brandon is currently President of the Chicago Music Association, Br. No. 1 of the National Association of Negro Musicians (NANM), Assistant Director of the Central Region of NANM, Secretary of the United Church of Christ Musicians’ Association, and has made a return to the Chicago Community Chorus as a Conductor.
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Brandon has studied and coached with R. Paul Crabb, Brandon Boyd, Keith Hampton, Jonita Lattimore, David Holloway, Scott Gilmore, Dana Brown, and Giulio Favario. Brandon earned a Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance from Eastern Illinois University, a Master’s in Voice Performance from CCPA at Roosevelt University, and a Master’s in Choral Conducting from the University of Missouri. He is also a member of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia. brandon.michael.brown@gmail.com
Michele Douglas
Associate Director/
New Membership Coordinator
Michele Douglas, a native Chicagoan, is a music educator with over twenty-five years of K-12 teaching experience in Detroit and Chicago Public School systems. Her current Chicago school has been selected as one of four Illinois schools to participate in the Turnaround Arts national program of the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, founded by former First Lady Michelle Obama, to provide “ high-quality and integrated arts education [to] strengthen school reform efforts, boost academic achievement, and increase student engagement in schools facing some of the toughest educational challenges in the country.”
She has successfully earned a Bachelor’s of Music and two Masters of Art in Humanities and Special Education. She is a member of the National Association for Music Education (NAfME) and the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA).
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Over her musical career, she has served as church musician and/or choir director in various church ministries throughout Detroit and Chicago. After relocating back to Chicago, she has been singing with the Chicago Community Chorus and is currently serving as an Associate Director in the organization.
Christopher Joyner
Associate Director/
Current Membership Coordinator
Christopher A. Joyner, Tenor, is the Director of Choral Activities and Coordinator for Performing Arts Recruitment at Beloit College. Chris received the Bachelor of Arts in Music Degree from Clark Atlanta University in Atlanta, GA and the Master of Music in Performance: Voice/Choral Conducting from Northern Illinois University. While at NIU, he was the graduate assistant for the Choral Area and directed the University Chorus.
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Before moving to the Midwest, Mr. Joyner was very active as a music educator and performer in Atlanta. He was a member of the Ameriolor Opera Alliance, Lawrence Weaver Chamber Chorale, The Atlanta Boys Choir, and staff musician at the historic First Congregational United Church of Christ Atlanta. His choral experience includes public school teaching, church choirs, and community choirs. Under his leadership, his choral programs gained a respected reputation on district and state levels; improving in membership retention and earning excellent and superior ratings in their Large Group Performance Evaluations.
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Chris remains an active musician throughout the Chicagoland area as a concert soloist, chorister, and on the operatic stage. In concert, Mr. Joyner has been featured soloist for The West Suburban Symphony, Beloit Janesville Symphony Orchestra, The Rockford Bach Chamber Chorale, and The DeKalb Festival Chorus to name a few. Some roles he has portrayed include Tamino in Die Zauberflöte, Nemorino in L’elisir d’amore, Phoebus in The Fairy Queen, Alfredo in La Traviata, and Don José in Carmen. Most recently, Chris joined the Music Staff of the Chicago Community Chorus serving as an Associate Conductor.