#blackhistorymonth Day 8: Meet composer and lyricist Brenda Russell! Russell is a five-time Grammy and one-time Tony nominated songwriter who has released and produced a number of albums. She wrote music and lyrics for The Color Purple on Broadway.

#blackhistorymonth Day 9: Meet composer Louis Jordan! (1908-1975) Jordan was a saxophonist, multi-instrumentalist, songwriter and bandleader who was popular from the late 1930s to the early 1950s. On Broadway, his music was featured in Five Guys Named Moe (1992).

#blackhistorymonth Day 10: Meet arranger and music director Coleridge-Taylor Perkinson! (1932-2004) Perkinson's interests spanned the worlds of jazz, dance, pop, film, television, and classical music. He wrote arrangements for Roach, Marvin Gaye, and Harry Belafonte.

#blackhistorymonth Day 11: Meet Luther Henderson! Henderson was an orchestrator, arranger, and musical director on more than fifty Broadway musicals. He worked with a number of notable musicians of the era, including Duke Ellington.

#blackhistorymonth DAY 12: Meet copyist Gwen Moten! Moten founded the Theatre World Music Service in 1979, where she was the copyist for Eubie!. Her other clients include the Duke Ellington Orchestra, the Harry Belafonte singers and bands, Dianne Reeves and Eartha Kitt.

#blackhistory Day 13: Meet arranger, orchestrator, and MD Danny Holgate! (1933-2017) Holgate taught contemporary vocal pop styles at the City College of New York. Apart from his Broadway credits, he arranged music for symphony and pop orchestras all over the country.

#blackhistorymonth Day 14: Meet composer and music director Will Marion Cook! (1869-1944) Cook wrote and published many songs, was prominent as a conductor, and was the musical director for Bert Williams and George Walker's string of groundbreaking musicals.

#blakchistorymonth Day 15: Meet composer Charlie Smalls! (1943-1987) A musical prodigy, Smalls attended the Juilliard School at age eleven in 1954. He was a Drama Desk and Tony Award winner and is best known for his 1975 musical The Wiz.

In 2 days you'll have the chance to meet the legendary Linda Twine, who has made history as a music director, arranger, and conductor. Join us for this candid conversation moderated by MUSE Founding Member Joseph Joubert. Register here: eventbrite.com/e/linda-twine-…

#blackhistorymoth Day 16: Meet music director Margaret Harris! (1943-2000) Harris was the Music Director and conductor of the original Broadway production of Hair in 1970 where she led a band of seven men. She was also the Music Director of Amen Corner (1983) on Broadway.

#blackhistorymonth Day 17: Meet music director and arranger Linda Twine, and join us at our event tomorrow to hear from her! Twine has conducted and directed many Broadway musicals including Bring Back Birdie (1981), Jelly's Last Jam (1992), and The Color Purple (2005).

#blackhistorymonth Day 19: Meet Noble Sissle! (1889 - 1975) Sissle was an American jazz composer, lyricist, bandleader, singer, and playwright, best known for the Broadway musical Shuffle Along (1921), and his hit song "I'm Just Wild About Harry".

#blackhistorymonth Day 20: Meet playwright and actress Kirstin Childs! Childs began her theatre career in the 1970s as a Broadway performer and went on to write many shows, starting with The Bubbly Black Girl Sheds Her Chameleon Skin (2000), which received an Obie Award.

#blackhistorymonth Day 21: Meet arranger and music director Chapman Roberts! First seen on Broadway in the Original Production of Hair, Roberts went on to write choral arrangements for Bubbling Brown Sugar, Eubie!, Blues in the Night, Five Guys Named Moe, and Smokey Joe's Cafe.

#blackhistorymonth Day 23: Meet composer and pianist James P. Johnson! (1894 - 1955) Johnson was one of the most important pianists of his time, and one of the key figures in the evolution of ragtime into jazz. He also composed for a number of Broadway shows.

DAY 24: Meet composer and lyricist Micki Grant! As a performer, Grant was seen on Broadway in Tambourines to Glory (1963), The Gingham Dog (1969), and Don't Bother Me, I Can't Cope (1972), for which she also contributed Music, Book and Lyrics. Source: Wikipedia

#BlackHistoryMonth DAY 26: Meet music director Leonard Oxley! Trained at Juilliard, Oxley's Broadway credits include Big Deal (1986), Ain't Misbehavin (1988), Black and Blue (1989), André Heller's Wonderhouse (1991), A Grand Night for Singing (1993) and Play On! (1997)."