Brandon Waddles

Assistant Professor in Teaching, Choral Conducting and Music Education

www.brandonwaddles.com

Brandon Waddles

Biography

Dr. Brandon Waddles, a Detroit native, is no stranger to the city’s rich legacy of vocal music in schools. An alumnus of Renaissance High School, he was a member of the Renaissance High School Varsity Chorus, under the direction of renowned music educator Nina Scott. Waddles credits Scott and the late Dr. Brazeal Dennard as founding influences on his work in choral music. He went on to receive his B.A. in Music from Morehouse College (Atlanta, GA) and an M.M. in Voice Performance & Pedagogy from Westminster Choir College of Rider University (Princeton, NJ). Dr. Waddles earned his Ph.D. in Music Education with a Choral Conducting emphasis at Florida State University (Tallahassee, FL). Before pursuing his doctorate, he served on the Conducting and Sacred Music faculty at Westminster as conductor of the Westminster Jubilee Singers.

As a composer, conductor, educator and music director, Dr. Waddles enjoys a multifaceted career spanning the musical gamut. His choral compositions and arrangements have been published and performed by choral ensembles around the world, including the Morehouse College and University of Michigan Glee Clubs, Oakwood Aeolians, Westminster Choir, Brigham Young University Singers and the Slovenian Philharmonic Choir. In 2019, he was awarded as the inaugural recipient of the ACDA Diverse Voices Collaborative Grant. For years, Dr. Waddles has worked as a transcriber of Black gospel music for numerous choral octavos, hymnals and hymnal supplements published by GIA, including his recent work as a contributor editor for the One Lord, One Faith, One Baptism hymnal. He recently released Just In Case You’ve Forgotten, the first selected compendium of works by the late Thomas Whitfield, the subject of his dissertation.

Dr. Waddles has worked with a diverse array of artists, most recently serving as music director for Grammy-winning recording artist Ledisi, collaborating with the celebrated singer on multiple occasions, including her Ledisi Sings Nina concert series, the LEDISI: THE LEGEND OF LITTLE GIRL BLUE show-run at the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts, and Ledisi Live: A Tribute to Nina Simone as seen on PBS.
At the heart of Dr. Waddles’s work is his unwavering passion for Black sacred music, instilled within him at a very young age by his father, Alvin Waddles, one of Detroit’s most beloved musicians. His scholarship on such has been experienced in the halls of Harvard, Yale, Morehouse and Hampton, and most recently on American Black Journal as seen on PBS. His particular areas of research focus on Negro spirituals, the evolution of contemporary gospel music, and the life and work of Thomas Whitfield.

Dr. Waddles persists in his commitment to community as National Music Director of NAACP ACT-SO, in addition to his memberships with the National Association for Negro Musicians, Inc. and American Choral Directors Association. He also serves as Artistic Director of Rackham Choir, Detroit's oldest choir.

Brandon Waddles

Brandon Waddles

Biography

Courses taught by Brandon Waddles

Winter Term 2025 (future)

Fall Term 2024 (current)

Winter Term 2024

Fall Term 2023

Winter Term 2023

Fall Term 2022

Winter Term 2022