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John L. Bell

b. 1949 Person Name: John Bell Arranger of "O FREEDOM" in Sing the Faith John Bell (b. 1949) was born in the Scottish town of Kilmarnock in Ayrshire, intending to be a music teacher when he felt the call to the ministry. But in frustration with his classes, he did volunteer work in a deprived neighborhood in London for a time and also served for two years as an associate pastor at the English Reformed Church in Amsterdam. After graduating he worked for five years as a youth pastor for the Church of Scotland, serving a large region that included about 500 churches. He then took a similar position with the Iona Community, and with his colleague Graham Maule, began to broaden the youth ministry to focus on renewal of the church’s worship. His approach soon turned to composing songs within the identifiable traditions of hymnody that began to address concerns missing from the current Scottish hymnal: "I discovered that seldom did our hymns represent the plight of poor people to God. There was nothing that dealt with unemployment, nothing that dealt with living in a multicultural society and feeling disenfranchised. There was nothing about child abuse…,that reflected concern for the developing world, nothing that helped see ourselves as brothers and sisters to those who are suffering from poverty or persecution." [from an interview in Reformed Worship (March 1993)] That concern not only led to writing many songs, but increasingly to introducing them internationally in many conferences, while also gathering songs from around the world. He was convener for the fourth edition of the Church of Scotland’s Church Hymnary (2005), a very different collection from the previous 1973 edition. His books, The Singing Thing and The Singing Thing Too, as well as the many collections of songs and worship resources produced by John Bell—some together with other members of the Iona Community’s “Wild Goose Resource Group,” —are available in North America from GIA Publications. Emily Brink

J. Jefferson Cleveland

1937 - 1986 Person Name: J. Jefferson Cleveland, 1937- Arranger of "[Oh freedom! Oh, freedom!]" in Songs of Zion Judge Jefferson Cleveland (1937-1986) was one of the most important scholars and editors of African-American congregational song of the 20th century. Along with Verogla Nix, he edited what is arguably the most groundbreaking collection of African-American song in the last half of the 20th century, Songs of Zion (1981/1982). Lutheran hymnologist Marilyn Stulken provides a biographical sketch of Cleveland’s life and accomplishments. Born in Georgia, Cleveland graduated from Clark College (Atlanta), Illinois Wesleyan University and received his doctorate in education from Boston University. He served on the faculty of three historically black Christian colleges: Claflin College (South Carolina), Langston University (Oklahoma), and Jarvis Christian College (Texas), before teaching at the University of Massachusetts and Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington, D.C. Cleveland’s musical arrangements, historical research and scholarship on the performance practice of African-American song have proven invaluable for the advancement of black gospel song, not only among African Americans, but also in Anglo hymnals to the present day. For example, Cleveland’s essay, “A Historical Account of the Hymn in the Black Worship Experience,” in Songs of Zion is a helpful introduction for laypersons and scholars alike. In addition to serving as a hymnody consultant for the United Methodist General Board of Discipleship, he toured the United States and Africa in 1981 and Europe in 1984 as a teacher, lecturer and performer. --www.umportal.org/

Carl Haywood

b. 1949 Person Name: Carl Haywood (b. 1949) Arranger of "[Oh, freedom! Oh, freedom]" in Lift Every Voice and Sing II

Verolga Nix

1933 - 2014 Person Name: Verolga Nix, 1933- Arranger of "[Oh freedom! Oh, freedom!]" in Songs of Zion Verolga Nix (Apr. 6, 1933-Dec. 9, 2014) Born in Cleveland, Verolga moved with her family at an early age to Philadelphia. She studied for two years at New England Conservatory of Music and then earned a music degree from Oberlin Conservatory of Music in 1955. She was awarded an honorary doctorate of humane letters from Bennett College in 2000. After retiring from twenty years as a full-time music teacher in Philadelphia public schools she served as minister of music at several churches in Philadelphia, trained and conducted many choirs and served as a seminar leader nationwide. She was a member of Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI), National Association of Negro Musicians and the Hymn Society in U.S. and Canada. In 1980 the United Methodist Church asked her to co-edit with J. Jefferson Cleveland the supplemental hymnal Songs of Zion. She published nearly 200 original songs an arrangements. (further details in The Philadelphia Tribune, Dec.19, 2014 obituary). Mary Louise VanDyke

Horace Clarence Boyer

1935 - 2009 Person Name: Horace Clarence Boyer, 1935- Arranger of "ROSA" in Singing the Living Tradition Horace Boyer (b. Winter Park, Flordia, July 28, 1935; d. Amherst, Massachusetts, July 21, 2009) was professor of music at the University of Massachussetts, Amhurst, editor of the African American hymnal Lift Every Voice and Sing, Lift Every Voice and Sing II, and author of How Sweet the Sound: The Golden Age of Gospel (Elliot & Clark, 1995). Sing! A New Creation