New artist-in-residence to offer voice coaching for students
Darryl Jordan, Ed.D., a highly sought-after and dynamic singer/songwriter, actor, musician, preacher, conductor, and vocal coach, will be joining the ISM as an artist-in-residence in the coming year. He will offer individual voice coaching to ISM and Divinity students and participate in regular studio classes to help students hone their skills for the leadership of congregational song. He joins Tyson Jackson and John Paul McGee who spent the last year coaching students in keyboard and percussion.
Students from the ISM or Yale Divinity School who wish to study with one of these teachers must enroll in REL 3630 and submit a 4–6-minute recording of their work to Eric Donnelly by August 30. Those accepted into these studios will receive a one-hour coaching session every other week, and will participate in studio classes. Please direct any questions to Eric Donnelly.
The artists-in-residence program is sponsored by the ISM’s Interdisciplinary Program in Music and the Black Church.
Darryl Jordan (voice) is a highly sought-after and dynamic singer/songwriter, actor, musician, preacher, conductor, and vocal coach, who empowers the NYC-Tri-State community through God’s gift of voice. He has spent his career training and “developing singers for every stage” as a professor at Brooklyn College (CUNY), Teachers College, Columbia University, and the former Alliance University (Nyack College). He serves as vocal teacher and choral director at the famed LaGuardia High School of Music, Art, and Performing Arts where he conducts their renowned Gospel Choir. They were recently featured on The View as the background choir for the 30th anniversary of Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit. He holds an Ed.D. and Ed.M. from Teachers College, Columbia University and holds a B.S. and M.M. in Music Education from NYU and Boston University, respectively. He serves on the faculty of the Hampton University Choir Directors and Organist Guild and as an active minister of music. He is a proud member of the Grammy-winning and Tony-honored Broadway Inspirational Voices ensemble and is featured on Henry Louis Gates’ PBS documentary, Gospel, which premiered in 2024.
Tyson Jackson (percussion and percussion for non-drummers) discovered his love for music at the age of three and his passion for it developed through playing the drums at New Bethel Missionary Baptist Church in West Palm Beach, Florida. He attended several arts institutions and has been mentored by world-renowned artists Dee Dee Bridgewater, Terence Blanchard, Darren, Barrett, AJ Wright, Terri Lynn Carrington, Ralph Peterson, Tia Fuller, Sean Jones, and Nona Hendryx. Tyson says, “It’s truly an honor to be a part of this esteemed program.
John Paul McGee (keyboard) is a masterful musician, dynamic preacher, producer, published author, and educator. He began his career in church music at the age of twelve as full-time minister of music at Waters AME church in Baltimore. As a keyboardist, vocal arranger, producer, and songwriter, he has been privileged to grace stages across the world with many popular gospel, jazz, R&B, and classical artists. Dr. McGee is currently the assistant chair of the Piano Department at Berklee College of Music. John Paul commented that he is humbled and honored to be part of the work to “further the work on the frontlines in lifting Black sacred music to new heights in today’s philosophical conversations, while also assisting Yale Divinity students in their development at the piano bench and organ console.”