DR. BRANDON WADDLES

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As a composer, conductor, educator and music director, Brandon Waddles enjoys a multifaceted career spanning the musical gamut. Dr. Waddles, a Detroit native, is an Assistant Professor of Choral Conducting & Music Education at Wayne State University. He was recently appointed as Artistic Director of the Rackham Choir, Detroit’s oldest choral organization. Prior to these appointments, he served on the Conducting and Sacred Music faculty at Westminster as conductor of the Westminster Jubilee Singers.  Brandon’s choral compositions and arrangements have been published and performed by choral ensembles around the world, including the Morehouse College and University of Michigan Glee Clubs, Oakwood Aeolians, Westminster Choir, Brigham Young University Singers and the Slovenian Philharmonic Choir. In 2019, he was awarded as the inaugural recipient of the ACDA Diverse Voices Collaborative Grant. In addition, he has worked as a transcriber of Black gospel music for numerous choral octavos, hymnals and hymnal supplements published by GIA, including his recent work as a contributing editor for the One Lord, One Faith, One Baptism hymnal. Brandon recently released Just In Case You’ve Forgotten, the first selected compendium of works by the late Thomas Whitfield, the subject of his dissertation.  Brandon has also served on the staffs of various music ministries throughout the country, including Hartford Memorial Baptist Church (Detroit, MI), the Historic Ebenezer Baptist Church (Atlanta, GA), Abyssinian Baptist Church (Harlem, New York City, NY), and First Baptist Church of Lincoln Gardens (Somerset, NJ), to name a few. He most recently served as Director of Music at Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church (Tallahassee, FL).  Brandon has been blessed to work with a diverse array of musicians including Dalton Baldwin, Martin Katz, Angela Brown, George Shirley, Donnie Ray Albert, Vinson Cole, Fred Hammond, Kathy Taylor, Anita Wilson and Chrystal Rucker. Recently serving as Music Director for Grammy award-winning recording artist Ledisi, he has collaborated with the celebrated singer on multiple occasions, including her Nina & Me concert series, the LEDISI: THE LEGEND OF LITTLE GIRL BLUE show-run at the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts, and Ledisi Live: A Tribute to Nina Simone as seen on PBS.  Dr. Waddles holds professional memberships with the American Choral Directors Association and the National Association of Negro Musicians, Inc.