About (Brief Biography)
About Dr. Herbert V.R.P. Jones
Dr. Herbert V.R.P. Jones, Founder/Director, is one of the nation's foremost figures in choral conducting and pedagogy and an expert in the intersection between theology and musical expression. A Southern transplant to Pennsylvania, Dr. Jones has cultivated a broad-based, multifaceted career as a choral conductor, educator, operatic and oratorio bass, liturgical dancer, orator and pastor, teaching and performing across the United States and Europe.
Dr. Jones holds numerous degrees:
- B.S. in Music
- M.S. in Counseling Psychology
- M.Mus., Choral Conducting/Music Education
- M.Divinity (M.Div.), Sacred Music, Dance & Drama
- D.M.A., Music, Choral Conducting, Performance Pedagogy & Choral Music Education.
- Ph.D. Studies, Ethnomusicology
Dr. Jones has taught in the Public Schools of Mississippi (grades 6-12), the Private High School sector (The Piney Woods School, Mississippi, The Neighborhood Academy-Pittsburgh) and colleges and universities in North Dakota, Arkansas, Pennsylvania, and Mississippi, respectively.
Dr. Jones is an active member of the American Choral Directors Association, the Music Educators National Conference, Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia, Tau Beta Sigma, and the National Guild of Sacred Dancers. He has published articles in the Mississippi ACDA/Mississippi Music Teachers Journal, the Academic Division of GMWA, the Milestone Christian Bookstore Newsletter, and Black Research Journal to name a few.
Dr. Jones is listed in: Who's Who Among American Teachers (dual listing); “Who’s Who Global”(2014); “Distinguished Church Musicians In America, Outstanding Personalities of the America, Marquise International Who's Who, Residential Scholars, Choral Scholar, (University of Mississippi); “Outstanding African-American Choral Directors in America”; “50 Men of Excellence” (2011, selected by the New Pittsburgh Courier), one of 5 men selected as “Men of Distinction” (2013) recognized by the Rachel Randall Education Ministry of the Pentecostal Temple Church of God In Christ, Pittsburgh, PA., and several others.
Dr. Jones is considered a leading authority on the music of Moses George Hogan. His Doctoral Dissertation, “THE AFRICAN-AMERICAN SPIRITUAL AND GOSPEL SONG: THE MUSICAL CONTRIBUTIONS OF MOSES GEORGE HOGAN, COMPOSER AND ARRANGER”, is the only definitive work on the life, music, compositional style of the composer.
Dr. Jones has performed in Operas, Musicals, Theater, and on the Dance stages of America and abroad. In the dance world, he has studied and performed Classical Ballet, modern dance, and Liturgical (Sacred Dance) and Mime. He is a former student of the “Graham Technique” (dance technique of the Late Martha Graham), and while in high school, a member of the “Alvin Ailey Dance Theater of Harlem” Apprenticeship Program. He has choreographed for Ballet Companies and Dance Programs across the United States; the most recent being The North Dakota Ballet Company. Dr. Jones choreographed a Tribute to Alvin Ailey via the signature dance work, ‘Revelation.” He is the Founder of the PWS Dance Alloy of The Piney Woods School, Mississippi.
An Ordained Minister of Music, Dr. Jones is Executive Assistant to the Academic Dean, Academic Division, of the Gospel Music Workshop of America, Inc. (GMWA), and sits on the Boards of the Afro-American Music Institute (AAMI) (Pittsburgh, PA), Professionals for Christ, Inc. (Birmingham, AL), a member of the Board of Directors of the Pentecostal Temple Development Corporation, (Pittsburgh, PA), RAISE Academy (Columbus, OH), and is a retired Music Department faculty member of Community College of Allegheny County Department of Music, Allegheny Campus.
Dr. Jones currently serves as Minister of Music, Bethany Baptist Church, Adjunct Faculty, Center For Urban Biblical Ministry (CUBM - Geneva College, and is the Founder/Director of The Heritage Gospel Chorale of Pittsburgh. He continues to maintain an active schedule conducting seminars and workshops, guest conducting, and adjudicating choral festivals and competitions.