THE SPOTLIGHT CORNER
Welcome to the Spotlight Corner of the Young Adult Liturgists Corner of The African American Lectionary. This corner is designed to spotlight the work of singers, songwriters, instrumentalists, worship and arts divisions/departments, liturgists, worship leaders, ministers of music, clergy, choir directors, and all who participate in some way in worship in primarily African American churches. This page will be updated through December 2013. We hope that you will visit often and send us e-mail to info@Theafricanamericanlectionary.org or our Facebook page and recommend people you believe we should spotlight. Please be aware that this corner will not be used to assist persons in selling CDs or in helping individuals gain economic or performance opportunities. It is simply our desire to highlight those who are doing outstanding work in the areas of music and/or worship in an effort to salute these individuals and groups and to expand the knowledge base of African American worship leaders.
To open the Young Adult Liturgists' Corner "Spotlight" section, we are proud to highlight J. Ehren Owens.
J. Ehren Owens is a native of Stone Mountain, Georgia. He began his musical journey by occasionally playing various instruments during worship services at his home church. At the age of twelve, he was introduced to classical music by his first private piano instructor, Sue Hampton. The combination of his musical experiences that he received through church, private instruction, and school have laid a foundation that he has been able to build upon. Owens would build on this foundation by continuing his education at Tennessee State University (TSU) in Nashville, Tennessee. While attending TSU, he majored in music education with piano as his primary instrument. Upon graduating from TSU in May 2009, Owens accepted a teaching position at a high school located in Decatur, Georgia, and later accepted a position at a local church as music director. He is currently pursuing the Master of Music Degree in Music Education at Georgia State University. In addition, Owens is presently completing his first full-length gospel album, which is scheduled to be released in early 2012. My All
It will include his song, "My All" which is a featured selection. Click the music button above to play the selection.
To open the Young Adult Liturgists' Corner "Spotlight" section, we are proud to highlight Roderick Vester.
When Roderick Vester discovered the piano at the age of five, it quickly became apparent that his talents surpassed those of other children his age. His fascination with the piano, and later the organ, created a lifelong passion for music theory, harmony, and the structure of music. Roderick has served as an accompanist for a plethora of national recording artists and has worked as a musician, composer, arranger, and producer. Roderick is currently pursuing his Master's degree in Music Theory and Composition at The University of Memphis and serves as an Adjunct Faculty member at The Visible School: Music and Worship College. Roderick holds a Bachelor's degree in Psychology and a Master's degree in Counseling. He also serves as CEO of his music production company, Fully Vested Music. Roderick and his wife, Allison, reside in Cordova, Tennessee, with their children, Cameron and Candace. Here I Am
Please click the appropriate music button to hear his composition titled "Here I Am" as sung by the Mississippi Boulevard Christian Church Choir on their CD Live at the Blvd |
