Raymond Wise

Phone:

812-855-4487

Email:

wiser@iu.edu

Department:

African American and African Diaspora Studies

Campus:

IU Bloomington

Raymond Wise, Ph. D., is the Executive Director of the African American Arts Institute, an IU division devoted to African American music and dance performance under the Office of the Vice President for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at Indiana University.

Professor Wise, a native of Baltimore, Md., began his musical career at an early age, singing gospel music with his family singing group “The Wise Singers.” His journey in music education includes a B.F.A. in Music (Piano and Voice) from Denison University (Granville, Ohio), additional studies in Opera, Art, and German at the Institute for European Studies in Vienna, Austria, and African-American History, Music, and Dance at San Francisco State University in San Francisco, California.

 He completed an apprenticeship in the business and recording of Gospel Music with the Walter Hawkins Corporation in Oakland, California. Professor Wise earned his Masters in Music Education, Ohio Teacher’s Certification, and Doctorate in Music Education from The Ohio State University, with a dissertation titled Defining African American Gospel Music by Tracing its Historical and Musical Development from 1900 to 2000.

 Dr. Wise currently serves on Indiana University’s faculty in Bloomington, Indiana, where he serves as a Professor in the African American African Diaspora Studies department and as affiliated faculty in the Jacobs School of Music, instructing courses in African American music. Wise conducts the African American Choral Ensemble, recently featured in the Emmy and Telly Award Winning PBS documentary “Amen: Music of the Black Church.” He has served on The Ohio State University and Denison University faculties and is an adjunct professor at Trinity Lutheran Seminary (Columbus, Ohio) and Trevecca College (Nashville, Tennessee).  

 Dr. Wise is an ordained minister and has served as a church musician for more than 45 years. He has appeared on radio and television, recorded 25 albums, and performed with opera singers, orchestras, dance companies, and professional recording groups. He has toured extensively throughout the United States, Canada, Europe, Africa, and Asia as a singer, pianist, composer, lecturer, choreographer, and conductor for honor choirs and choral festivals. Wise recently performed at Carnegie Hall where he debuted one of his many compositions. Wise has penned more than 680 compositions and received numerous commissions. His works are published by Hinshaw, GIA, Hal Leonard, MusicSpoke, Abingdon Press, and the United Methodist Publishing House. His Anthology of 21 Spirituals for the 21st Century has received national and international acclaim. 

 Wise serves as the Founder and President of Raise Productions’ Center for the Gospel Arts, a gospel music production and publishing company located in Columbus, Ohio. The company was established to offer educational training and resources for gospel artists and the community. Since 1986, Wise has been the artistic director of various performing and recording ensembles at Raise.

 Additionally, Professor Wise directed the Hampton University Minister’s Conference Choir Directors’ and Organists’ Guild and Academy, delivering extensive training in African American sacred music for church musicians. He has also been a member of the academic faculty for the Gospel Music Workshop of America for 37 years. Moreover, he acted as the Ethnic and American Music Repertoire and Standards Chair for the American Choral Director’s Association Central Division (ACDA). With his comprehensive knowledge of the gospel and classical music genres, he has served as a consultant and clinician in academic and gospel music settings, well-known for his ability to help choirs deliver authentic performances of gospel music.