Jeannine Otis

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Jeannine Otis, also known as "Jahneen," is an American singer, educator and music director. [1]

Contents

Early life and education

At the age of 16, she was accepted early to Wellesley College and was the first African-American to be a Presser Music Scholar. She earned a BA in Sociology and Musicology. She went on to earn an MA in Theater Education and Performance at Emerson College, where she won a teaching fellowship. [2]

Career

She has performed with Kool and the Gang, the Shirelles, Grover Washington Jr., Eliot Goldenthal, Pete Seeger and many leading hip-hop artists. She has worked in theater with Galt MacDermot, Liz Swados and Robert Lupone. [2]

She wrote a book published by Seabury Press, titled The Gathering, based on her work with imprisoned teenagers. [1] The Gathering has been turned into a theatrical performance. [1] She worked with the New York City Department of Education as an Arts in Education evaluator. [2]

She has toured extensively in productions of Porgy and Bess . [2]

She received a Lifetime Achievement Award from The City Council of New York, [3] the St. Mark's Griffin Outreach Award, the William A. Morris Award from the NAACP, [3] and a Reggie for her Staten Island appearance in The Cradle Will Rock (which she also performed in Manhattan), [4] and she is listed in "Who's Who in America." [2]

She has performed at the Staten Island Jazz Festival for many years, [5] [6] [7] [8] at the Empowering Voices Dinner Gala hosted by Illuminart Productions in 2018. [9]

Currently, she is a Warner European recording artist, [10] [2] has been music director for St. Marks Church-in-the-Bowery for 25 years, [1] [10] an outreach/education coordinator for the Staten Island Museum, and president and consultant for Light of Mine Productions. [2]

She collaborated with Heikki Sarmanto on Magic Song . [11]

Personal life

Jeannine lives on Staten Island in New York City with her long-time partner, Larry Marshall. [2]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Staten Islanders give voice to new song cycle at legendary LaMama". SILive.com. Retrieved 2018-05-16.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Staten Island's dynamic duo: Larry Marshall and Jeannine Otis". SILive.com. Retrieved 2018-05-16.
  3. 1 2 "Staten Island artists share tales of 'Growing Up on The Rock: The Good, the Bad & the Ugly'". SILive.com. Retrieved 2018-05-17.
  4. ↑ Tommasini, Anthony (2009-02-09). "Marc Blitzstein's Proletariat, With Piano, at St. Mark's in the Bowery". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2018-05-17.
  5. ↑ "Staten Island Jazz Festival turns 30 this weekend at Music Hall". SILive.com. Retrieved 2018-05-17.
  6. ↑ "Jazz Fest 2016: A Universal experience on Staten Island this weekend". SILive.com. Retrieved 2018-05-17.
  7. ↑ "Universal Temple of the Arts sets Staten Island JAZZ Festival 27". SILive.com. Retrieved 2018-05-17.
  8. ↑ "Staten Island's 'JazzLand' fest launches Oct. 13-14 with David Sanborn, host of local talents". SILive.com. Retrieved 2018-05-17.
  9. ↑ "Staten Island Nightlife: Scenes from Illuminart's 'Empowering Voices' dinner gala". SILive.com. Retrieved 2018-05-17.
  10. 1 2 "What Are You Reading? Jeannine Otis Edition". The New York Public Library. Retrieved 2018-05-16.
  11. ↑ "Jeannine Otis – Heikki Sarmanto - Magic Song". Discogs. 1980. Retrieved 2018-06-07.
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