CHARRISE BARRON
Assistant Professor of Music
Department of Music
Harvard University
Cambridge, MA
EDUCATION
Harvard University, Cambridge, MA
PhD in African and African American Studies. Secondary Field: Music (Ethnomusicology).
Dissertation: “Crossover for Christ: Contemporary Gospel since the 1990s”
Advisors: Professors Marla Frederick (primary), Robin Bernstein, Evelyn Higginbotham, Ingrid Monson, and Kay Shelemay.
Harvard University, Cambridge, MA
Master of Arts, African American Studies.
Yale Divinity School, New Haven, CT
Master of Divinity, summa cum laude,
Curricular Emphasis: Sacred Music and Preaching. Certificate, Institute of Sacred Music.
Harvard University, Cambridge, MA
Bachelor of Arts, cum laude. Concentration: Computer Science.
Independent Research in the History of Gospel Music; Independent Research in Gospel Music Performance.
ACADEMIC APPOINTMENTS
| Assistant Professor of Music, Department of Music. Harvard University. | July 2022 – Present |
| Donald D. Harrington Faculty Fellow, Butler School of Music. University of Texas at Austin. | July 2020 – June 2023 |
| Assistant Professor, Departments of Africana Studies and Music. Brown University. Affiliations: Rites and Reason Theatre; Department of Religious Studies. | July 2020 – June 2022 |
| Visiting Assistant Professor, Department of Africana Studies. | 2019 – 2020 |
| Presidential Diversity Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Religious Studies, Department of Africana Studies, and the Center for the Study of Race and Ethnicity in America (CSREA), Brown University. | 2018 – 2020 |
| Postdoctoral Associate, Institute of Sacred Music (ISM), Yale University. | 2017 – 2018 |
| Pre-Doctoral Riley Scholar-in-Residence, Music Department, Colorado College. | 2016 – 2017 |
SELECTED FELLOWSHIPS, PRIZES, AND AWARDS
| CSREA Faculty Grant, Brown University. | 2020 – 2021 |
| Engaged Course Development Grant, Swearer Center for Public Service, Brown University. | 2020 – 2021 |
| Salomon Curricular Mini-Grant, Brown University. | 2020 – 2021 |
| Sheridan Junior Faculty Teaching Fellow, Brown University. | 2020 – 2021 |
| Brown Arts Initiative (BAI) Protest Art Micro-Grant, Brown University (declined). | 2020 – 2021 |
| Pembroke Center Seed Grant, Brown University. | 2019 – 2020 |
| Curriculum Development Grant, Brown University. | 2019 – 2020 |
| Engaged Course Development Mini-Grant, Brown University. | 2018 – 2019 |
| Salomon Curricular Mini-Grant, Brown University (declined). | 2018 – 2019 |
| Harvard University Society of Horizons Scholars, 2016 Fellowship Cohort | 2016 |
| Mahindra Humanities Center Interdisciplinary Dissertation Completion Fellowship | 2015 – 2016 |
| John Knowles Paine Traveling Fellowship | 2015 |
| Ford Foundation Fellowships Dissertation Competition Honorable Mention | 2015 |
| Philippe Wamba Summer Research Travel Grant | 2014 |
| Forum for Theological Exploration Doctoral Fellowship | 2014 – 2015 |
| Charles Warren Center Summer Travel Grant for Dissertation Research | 2014 |
| Race Relations Advisor Award, Harvard Foundation for Intercultural and Race Relations | 2018 |
ADMINISTRATIVE APPOINTMENTS AND LEADERSHIP
Interim Director, Brown Center for Students of Color (BCSC). Brown University, 2019-2020.
PUBLICATIONS AND PUBLICATIONS IN PREPARATION
The Platinum Age of Gospel: Contemporary Gospel Since the 1990s. In revision.
The Gospel of Resistance. In progress.
“Gospel Music” Oxford Bibliographies in Music. Oxford University Press, expected 2022. In progress.
“Between Free Grace and Liberty: Richard Allen’s Evocations of Eschatological and Immediate Freedom,” Theology, Music, and Modernity: Struggles for Freedom, edited by Jeremy Begbie; Daniel Chua; Markus Rathey, Oxford University Press, 2021.
“Bridging Liturgies in the Black Lives Matter Era,” Liturgy, vol. 35, no. 4, pp 51-57, October 1, 2020.
Review of Beginning a Career in Academia – A Guide for Graduate Students of Color, edited by Mack, Dwayne A., Elwood Watson, and Michelle Madsen Camacho. New York, NY: Routledge, 2015. Reviewed in Reflective
Teaching, January 18, 2016.
Barron, Charrise, J. Anthony Plenty, Kenneth Mosley, and Nolan Williams, Jr. “Youth Day (Youth and Health).” The African American Lectionary (online repository), October 24, 2010.
INVITED KEYNOTES AND PRESENTATIONS
“The Gospel of Mary Mary.” Plenary Keynote Address. Society of Gospel Haymanot Annual Meeting 2020, St. Louis, MO, via videoconference. October 22, 2021.
“Decolonization, Performance, and Socially-Engaged Ethnography.” Ethnographic Methods in Religious Studies Forum. Harvard Divinity School, Cambridge, MA, via videoconference. February 17, 2021.
“History of Church Music—Praise & Worship, Psalms, Hymns, Spiritual Songs.” Panel Discussion. Music Bridge Web Panel Series by Edwin Dadson. Accra, Ghana, via videoconference. October 12, 2020.
“Music & Divinity.” Panel Discussion. Damien Sneed Dialogues Web Series. Queens, NY, via videoconference. July 7, 2020.
“The Crisis of Faith Amid Two Pandemics.” Discussion with Jakes Divinity School President Antipas Harris. Jakes Divinity School. Dallas, TX, via videoconference. June 14, 2020.
“Sexy for Jesus: Contemporary Gospel Performance.” Faculty Summer Institute. African American Studies Initiative. Prairie View A&M, Prairie View, TX, via videoconference. May 19, 2020.
“A Round Table on Faith, Art, Culture and the Depths of Good Friday.” Panel Discussion. The Depths of Faith Artistic Collaborative. Chicago, IL, via videoconference. April 19, 2020.
“How I Got Over: The Spirit of Gospel.” Panel Presentation Rebroadcast and Commentary. Live Wire Series. Apollo Theater. New York, NY, via videoconference. April 10, 2020.
“Sexy for Jesus: Contemporary Gospel Performance.” Music Now Lecture Series. Brown University Music Department. Providence, RI. April 8, 2019.
“Race in and in front of the Classroom.” Panelist. New England-Maritimes Region of the American Academy of Religion (NEMAAR) and The New England and Eastern Canada Region of the Society of Biblical Literature.
Tufts University, Medford, MA. March 22, 2019.
Sexy for Jesus: Contemporary Gospel Performance.” Lecture. University of Chicago Divinity School, Chicago, IL. March 13, 2019.
“New Songs in the Same Strange Land: Congregational Music for Worship and Liberation in the Age of Hip Hop and Black Lives Matter.” Plenary Keynote Address. Association of Practical Theology Biennial Conference. New Haven, CT. April 14, 2018.
“Reflection on Contemporary Anthems and Hymn Arrangements” and Hymn Leading. Hymn Festival. Inspire: The Church in the 21st Century Conference. Yale Divinity School, New Haven, CT. April 5, 2018.
Introduction of Speakers. Harvard Horizons Symposium, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA. April 11, 2018.
“How I Got Over: The Spirit of Gospel Music.” Panelist. Apollo Live Wire. Apollo Theater. Harlem, NY. December 10, 2017.
“Gospel Music.” Lecture. Community Baptist Church, New Haven, CT. February 2018.
OTHER SELECTED PRESENTATIONS
“Gospel Choir Music Goes West: Kanye West as Reorienting Force in Black American Church Music.” Society for Ethnomusicology Virtual Annual Meeting, via videoconference. October 2021.
“Gospel Choir Music Goes West: Kanye West as Reorienting Force in Black American Church Music.” Christian Congregational Music: Local and Global Perspectives. Ripon College Cuddesdon, Oxford, United Kingdom, via
videoconference. August 2021.
“In the World and Finding the Oil: Revised Theologies of Sanctification Among Black Pentecostals,” Society of Gospel Haymanot Annual Meeting 2020, St. Louis, MO, via videoconference. October 23, 2020.
“Kanye West and Snoop Dogg: Making Christianity Cool Again.” American Academy of Religion Annual Meeting. San Diego, CA. November 2019.
“The New Called Out: Hip Hop’s Gospel in the Post-Christian Marketplace.” Spirit Sounds Symposium. Brown University. Providence, RI. October 11, 2019.
“The Gospel of Mary Mary.” Bard College. Annandale-On-Hudson, NY. March 2018.
“What’s African American about African American Music.” Amherst College. Amherst, MA. February 2018.
“Mary Mary and Millennial Gospel.” Institute of Sacred Music, Yale University, New Haven. September 2017.
“Great God, God’s Friends, and the Global Discourses of Contemporary Praise and Worship Music.” Riley Scholars Lecture, Colorado College, Colorado Springs, CO. April 2016.
“‘Blessed Ties That Bind’: Spiritual Connections to Black Music.” Panelist. Composers of Color Collective Conference 2016, Raleigh/Durham, NC. May 2016.
“The Platinum Age of Gospel.” Presenter. Harvard Horizons Symposium, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA. April 2016.
“Appealing to the Masses: The Politics of Contemporary Gospel Performance for Mainstream Consumption.” Colorado College. Colorado Springs, CO. February 2016.
“Sexy For Jesus: Contemporary Gospel Music Performance in the New Millennium.” Society for Ethnomusicology 60 Annual Meeting. Austin, TX. December 2015.
“Sweeter: The Gospel Music and Performance of Kim Burrell.” American Academy of Religion Annual Meeting. Atlanta, GA. November 2015.
“Multicultural Worship in an African American Pentecostal Church.” Christian Congregational Music: Local and Global Perspectives. Ripon College Cuddesdon, Oxford, United Kingdom. August 2015.
“This is Why I’m Hot: Hip-hop’s Influence in Contemporary Gospel Music.” International Association for the Study of Popular Music (IASPM) 18 Biennial Conference. University of Campinas, São Paulo, Brazil. June 2015.
“Israel Houghton & A New Breed of Religious Discourse.” Society of American Music (SAM) Fortieth Annual Conference. Lancaster, PA. March 2014.
The Contradictions of Fair Hope Documentary Screening Panel Discussion. Panelist. Harvard University, Cambridge, MA. October 2013.
“Race, Media and Everything Else; An Open Discussion with Prof. Henry Louis Gates Jr.” Moderator. Harvard University, Cambridge, MA. April 2013.
“Israel Houghton & A New Breed of Religious Discourse.” Delivered at Yale Institute of Sacred Music (ISM) Colloquium, New Haven, CT. February 2010.
TEACHING EXPERIENCE
Guest Lecture. “Contemporary Gospel Music in Context—Considering George Floyd and the Covid-19 Pandemic” Theology and Music course. Duke Divinity School, Durham, NC, via videoconference. March 26,
2021.
Guest Lecture. “Bishop Richard Allen’s Hymnody”
Yale Institute of Sacred Music. October 2, 2020.
Guest Lecture. “Contemporary Gospel Music in Context.” Theology and Music course. Duke Divinity School,
Durham, NC. March 4, 2020.
Brown University
Graduate Courses:
- Black Movement Music. Spring 2022.
Undergraduate Courses
- Gospel Music from the Church to the Streets. Fall 2018, Fall 2021.
- Social Justice and the Musical Afrofuture. Fall 2019, Spring 2021, Spring 2022.
- Black Protest Music. Spring 2021.
- Gospel Titans, Divas, and Dynasties (First Year Seminar). Fall 2020.
Guest Lecture. “Gospel Music.”
Yale Divinity School. March 26, 2018.
Yale University, Institute of Sacred Music
Postdoctoral Associate, Fall 2017.
- Designed and taught the course Gospel Music in the Church and World, which was offered at the Divinity School and cross-listed in African American Studies, Music, and Religious Studies Departments.
Colorado College, Music Department
Pre-Doctoral Riley Scholar-in-Residence and Visiting Instructor, Spring 2017.
- Designed and taught the course Topics in Ethnomusicology: Black Gospel Music.
- Designed and taught the course Topics in Ethnomusicology: African American Protest Music.
Cornell University, Telluride Association Sophomore Seminar (TASS)
Professor, Summer 2016.
- Co-taught the course An Exploration of Meaning in Cultural Identity Through Music: The Harlem Renaissance, Soul, and Social Protest to Contemporary Hip Hop as part of the Telluride Association’s college preparatory program at Cornell University.
Guest Lecture. “Introducing Kim Burrell.”
Berklee College of Music, Boston, MA. April 2016.
Guest Lecture. “African American Christianity.”
Harvard University, Cambridge, MA. April 2014.
Harvard University, AAAS Department
Head Teaching Fellow, Spring 2014.
- Served as teaching staff for the course Introduction to African American Studies.
- Assisted course professors Henry Louis Gates Jr. and Lawrence Bobo in course of more than 100 students.
- Guest lectured, planned lessons, and administered course website. Held responsibility for all assessments.
- Managed the team of teaching fellows for the course.
Guest Lecture. “Early Neo-Soul: D’Angelo, Erykah Badu, Maxwell, Lauryn Hill.”
Harvard University, Cambridge, MA. November 2013.
Harvard University, AAAS Department
Teaching Fellow, Fall 2013.
- Served as teaching staff for the course From R&B to Neo Soul: Black Popular Music and Cultural Transformation
- Assisted course professor Ingrid Monson in course of 213 students. Guest lectured, as well as planned lessons, graded papers, held office hours, and taught 53 students across 3 sections.
Harvard University, AAAS Department
Teaching Fellow, Fall 2013.
- Served as teaching staff for the course Childhood in African America
- Assisted course professor Robin Bernstein, and graded papers.
- Held office hours, assisting the 20 undergraduate students enrolled in the course.
Guest Lecture. “The Role of the Black Church: Havens from Racist Oppression.”
Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138. April 2013.
Harvard University, AAAS Department
Teaching Fellow, Spring 2013.
- Served as teaching staff for the course The History of African Americans from the Slave Trade to the Great Migration.
- Assisted course professor Kellie Carter Jackson, graded papers, and guest lectured for the course.
- Held office hours, assisting the 33 students enrolled in the course.
Harvard University, Music Department
Teaching Fellow, Fall 2012.
- Served as teaching staff for the course Foundations of Tonal Music I.
- Assisted professor Olaf Post in course of 152 students. Planned lessons, taught twice weekly, and graded assignments for a section of 10 students.
RECORDED COMPOSITIONS
The Lawsons: A Civil Rights Love Story. A play with music by Melda Beaty. World Premiere at The Ensemble Theatre, Houston, Texas, February 10, 2022.
Composed original music for the play by commission.
“Testify,” Alyncia Mack: Testify, © Allied Music Group 2018.
Co-wrote “Testify” with Delbert Mack Jr.
“Wonderful,” Glenda Taylor: Lord, I Want to Thank You, © Marxan Records 2008.
Composed the song “Wonderful.”
“One Thing,” Cecil A. Edgerton & Friends: Bless the Lord, © Derbytown Records, Inc. 2007.
Composed and provided lead vocals for the song “One Thing.”
PERFORMANCES & CREATIVE ARTS
Roses Now! Celebrating the Intellectual Ferocity of Dr. Tricia Rose
Center for the Study of Race and Ethnicity in American (CSREA), Brown University (via videoconference).
October 18, 2020.
- Inaugural Roses Now! symposium celebrating excellence in the intellectual and cultural legacies of Black
- womxn. This inaugural symposium illuminated the work of Tricia Rose, director of Brown University’s
- Center for the Study of Race and Ethnicity in America (CSREA).
- Composed and performed (keyboard, voice) original music.
50 Years and Beyond
Department of Africana Studies/Rites and Reason Theatre, Brown University (via videoconference).
December 15, 2020.
- Special event commemorating Rites and Reason Theatre’s 50th Anniversary as the oldest, continuously producing Black Theatre in New England, and the phenomenal contributions to its legacy made by Karen Allen Baxter, the Theatre’s Senior Managing Director, upon her retirement.
- Composed, performed (voice), and directed two virtual ensemble pieces.
RESEARCH EXPERIENCE
Yale University, Institute of Sacred Music (ISM)
Postdoctoral Research Associate, 2017-2018.
- Conducted archival research of African Methodist Episcopal Church founder and hymnist Richard Allen.
- Archival research conducted at Mother Bethel Methodist Episcopal Church, Historical Society of Pennsylvania, and The Library Company.
The Potter’s House, Dallas Texas
Researcher, 2015.
- Conducted participant observation of the Potter’s House Music and Fine Arts Department at the Potter’s House, Dallas Texas (largest predominantly Black church in the United States of America.)
- Interviewed national and international gospel artists and producers, including Kirk Franklin, Fred Hammond, Bishop Marvin Winans, Robert “Sput” Searight, Thaddeus Tribbett, and Crystal Aiken.
University of Ghana, International Institute for Advanced Studies
Research Fellow, Summer 2014.
- Conducted ethnographic research of gospel music performance.
- Interviewed and performed with Ghanaian gospel artists in Accra and Tema, Ghana.
Harvard University, African and African American Studies (AAAS) Department
Researcher, Summer 2013.
- Conducted participant observation of the National Convention of Gospel Choirs and Choruses 80th Annual Conference. In Houston, TX.
Harvard University, African and African American Studies (AAAS) Department
Researcher, Summer 2011.
- Carried out ethnographic research of gospel artist Kim Burrell in Houston, TX.
- Conducted participant observation of Church of God In Christ 2012 Auxiliaries in Ministry (AIM) Convention. In Houston, TX.
Harvard University, AAAS Department
Research Assistant, Spring 2011.
- Aided research project of Prof. Marla Frederick.
- Located various texts in the study of religion and the African Diaspora.
Yale Divinity University, Institute of Sacred Music
Project Assistant, Summer 2008 – Spring 2010.
- Participated in documentary project led by Prof. Margo Fassler.
- Provided insights into gospel music industry as well as African American sacred music and church traditions, to documentary producer.
SERVICE IN COMMUNITY
Profession:
Editorial Board Member, Yale Journal of Music and Religion, August 2020-present.
Steering Committee Member, Critical Approaches to Hip-Hop and Religion Unit, American Academy of Religion, 2019-present.
Brown University:
Symposium Co-Organizer. Fall 2018-Fall 2019.
Co-organized with Professor Dana Gooley the Spirit Sounds Symposium to be held October 10-11, 2019. This interdisciplinary conference explored religion and spirituality in black popular music. The academic gathering included two keynote addresses, two panels, and a concert featuring jazz and gospel recording artist Cory Henry and the Funk Apostles. This work included securing over $45,000 in grants.
“Pack Your Own Light: A Charge for First Year Students in the Black Student Union.”
Invited Speaker for the Black Student Union Second Annual Black Convocation. Brown University. Providence, RI. September 14, 2019.
Harvard University:
Resident Tutor, Adams House. Fall 2011 – May 2016.
Provided academic and non-academic advising to sophomores, juniors, and seniors; organized music performances for various House events; facilitated race-relations conversations and events.
Department of Africana Studies/Rites and Reason Theatre:
Faculty Member, Rites and Reason Theatre. 2020-present.
Undergraduate Committee. 2020-present.
Department of Music:
Graduate Admissions Committee. 2020-2021
ADDITIONAL PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
More Excellent Media Group, LLC, Houston, TX
Founder, New Media Consultant, April 2005 – August 2008.
- Founded web design and media consulting firm; provided web design, graphic design, and marketing consulting services.
Information Services International (a division of M&M/Mars, Inc.), Houston, TX
Senior Business Systems Analyst, June 2000 – June 2006.
- Represented American region on a global development project team based in France and Great Britain; planned and carried out software implementations in Western Europe and Mexico.
Information Services International, Houston, TX
Business Systems Analyst, June 1998 – June 2000.
- Provided support of manufacturing software for approximately 5,000 associates at fourteen production facilities in the United States and Canada.
LANGUAGES
Spanish: reading and conversational knowledge.
French: reading and some conversational knowledge.
Koine Greek: reading knowledge.
PROGRAMMING LANGUAGES AND PLATFORMS
Experience with WordPress; HTML; Python; JavaScript; PHP; MySQL.
PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS
Member, Chorale Le Chateau (recording choir)
American Academy of Religion
Society for Ethnomusicology
Society for American Music
American Academy of Religion
Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH)
Harvard Society of Horizons Scholars