Professor Charles Lloyd Jr.

Charles Lloyd Jr., incomparable composer, exemplary concert pianist, and critically acclaimed choir conductor, transitioned to his final resting place to meet his eternal Father on the evening of June 21st, 2024, Ain’t a Dat Good News? World-renowned for his moving and complex compositions, vivid operas, and life’s work surrounding and devoted to exploring the confines of the Negro Spiritual and Spiritual Arts Songs, Lloyd leaves a rich legacy of beautiful music! Born and raised in Toledo, Ohio, the eldest son to Charles Lloyd, Sr. and Thelma Coleman Lloyd, his entire family was musically inclined. His father was a chef, and his mother was a masterful musician of the bugle, double bass, and piano. She developed the musical talents of Charles and his siblings at an early age, putting him in piano lessons at the Bach Conservatory of Music and enrolling him in voice lessons at only 4 years old. After a family move and brief respite from music at the cusp of his teenage years, Charles Lloyd, Jr. rekindled his love for the art, and after his parents gifted him a brand-new piano, the rest was history. In high school, Lloyd joined the marching band at a PWI, taking on the trombone. His passion and skill set continued to grow as he became a trombone major in 1966 at Norfolk State University in Virginia. However, at his department head’s encouragement, and much to our benefit, he switched his major to piano. During his tenure at Norfolk State, he got experiences in singing artistry, and piano pedagogy, and heard the life- changing Negro Spiritual performed by other HBCU concert choirs for the first time! Ultimately, he graduated with a degree in Music Education and began his teaching career at a local elementary school. In 1976, he was accepted into University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan for graduate studies in piano performance where under the tutelage of Cuban pianist, Marian Owens he thrived.The diversity of his piano, vocal, and choral repertoire expanded greatly in grad school as he sang in the male Glee Club and church choir under the direction of Dr. Willis Patterson. While pursuing his master’s degree under the powerhouses of Owens and Patterson, Charles was introduced to the works of Black composers and found his love and appreciation for spiritual arts songs. The University of Michigan also joined him together with the late Jacqueline Paige-Green, soprano. They went on to collaborate both in teaching and musical endeavors for many years to come. Lloyd completed his master’s in piano performance at the University of Michigan in 1976. He also accepted an accompanist and vocal coach position at Morgan State University in Baltimore, Maryland the following year. Charles was recommended for that position by Veronica Tyler, soprano, and also worked with a local ballet company during that time. In the early eighties, Lloyd got a position at the Peabody Preparatory School and later, Kentucky State University, where he taught for two years. He then returned home to teach in the Toledo Public School System. Charles and Jacqueline started the journey together at Southern University and A&M College in 1991, as they were both recommended by Dr. Willis Patterson. As a young, budding professor, he was appointed as the Choir Director, and taught ear training, harmony, and choir. Through his decades-long tenure, Lloyd, Jr. has inspired and mentored innumerable students and immersed his zeal for musicianship in countless singers, pianists, and protégées performing his works internationally. The respect, accolades, and reverence Charles Lloyd, Jr. has received during his time on this earth do not compare to the vast void left in the hearts of his loved ones by his departure. “He has collaborated with several well-known singers, such as African American tenor and Metropolitan Opera veteran, George Shirley. He also accompanied his mentor, Dr. Willis Patterson. Dr. Patterson, bass, played the role of King Balthazar in NBC-TV’s production of Gian Carlo Mennotti’s Amahl and the Night Visitors.” Other collaborators include bass-baritone, Dr. Oral Moses; soprano, Veronica Tyler; tenor, Gregory Hopkins; mezzo-soprano, Blanche Forman, and his dear friend and colleague, baritone, Richard Hobson. Many of his international performances were with soprano, Jacqueline Paige-Green. He traveled with her and participated in the International Voice Competition in Rio de Janeiro, the International Gaudeamus Competition, and the Sixth International Tchaikovsky Competition for Voice in Moscow. It was at the Tchaikovsky Competition that he was honored with the Distinguished Accompanying Award, and Paige Green won third place. “On top of being an award-winning accompanist, Lloyd has excelled as a composer. Charles arranged his first piece in high school, but only committed to being a composer while at the University of Michigan.” It was there that he wrote his well-received piece, Ballad of the Black Mother (1978) for bass voice and cello. Through this particular work, he decided that he was officially a composer and that it was, “something he wanted to do.” Since this epiphany, Lloyd has written many works of various genres such as opera, cantatas, solo instruments, and spiritual arrangements. His earliest works include the opera Ruth (1970), the piano piece Sonatina (1970), the choral work Ode (1970), and spiritual arrangements, Give Me Jesus and Live a Humble (1971). In addition, Professor Lloyd has written the opera, Song of Solomon (1988), piano pieces including To a Condemned Neighborhood (1999), and spiritual arrangements which include: There is a Balm in Gilead (1991) and Were You There (2000). In total, he has composed more than 11 instrumental works, two oratorios, three operas, two volumes of spiritual art songs, five art songs for voice and piano, eight larger works for voice and piano, 14 choral works, and a collection of acapella spirituals. “The Invisible Church,” one of Charles’s most cherished works, is an anthology that consists of 51 choral arrangements, 11 hymns, five sacred songs, three benedictions, and 13 miscellaneous works. “Aside from an extensive catalog, Lloyd has a well-rounded discography that reflects the appeal of his music to some of the most celebrated singers of his day. His spiritual arrangements of My Lord, What a Morning (1982) and Great Day (1982) along with the original piece, Thought (1982), appear on famous soprano, the late Jessye Norman’s 1982 recording: Great Day in the Morning. Other spiritual arrangements by the composer can be found on the special project: Spirituals in Concert, in which Jessye Norman and Kathleen Battle sang spiritual solos and duets. Furthermore, soprano, Veronica Tyler sang many of the composer’s spiritual arrangements in her 1980’s recording, The Passion of Christ in Spirituals.”He was heavily influenced by Giacomo Puccini and American opera composer Gian Carlo Menotti, but still staunchly committed to amplifying Black narratives and elevating Black voices. Commissioned to compose the opera Emmett Till by the Trilogy Opera Company of Newark, New Jersey in 2008, Lloyd and colleagues were able to produce an updated version last year at the Manship Theater in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The new version of the opera included characters that had been omitted in the original opera. This thrilling re-telling of the production had new scenes with Carolyn Bryant and her husband, and profound Civil Rights Leaders such as Martin Luther King, Jr., Fannie Lou Hammer, Rosa Parks, and Frederick Douglas. “The art song output of Charles Lloyd is one of great variety and of the highest quality. From his first piece, I Judge Not My Own Self (1972), Lloyd has composed the most sophisticated art songs. These art songs include the published piece Compensation (1977), the song Emmett Till (1978), later adapted as an aria in the opera Emmett Till (2008), Thought (1982), and I Will Live with a Song in My Heart (1999).” Some of his most popular spiritual art songs, include reimagined renditions and original versions of: Give Me Jesus, Were You There?, Ride on King Jesus, Hush, Somebody Calling My Name, and Ain’t a Dat Good News?. These have been published by Warner Brothers in the Spiritual Art Song Collection. He is preceded in death by his father, Charles Lloyd, Sr.; his mother, Thelma Coleman Lloyd; and his brother, Edwin James Lloyd. Charles Lloyd, Jr. is survived by his sibling, Marcia D. Lloyd of Southfield, Michigan. A host of esteemed colleagues, former students, and musicians will carry on Lloyd Jr.’s legacy and celebrate the indelible mark he leaves as they perform and celebrate his pieces for generations to come! Excerpts from this obituary taken from Dr. Charis Kelly Hudson’s 2011 dissertation entitled: The vocal works of Charles Lloyd, Jr.: a performers guide to selected dramatic works, art songs, and spiritual art songs

Professor Charles Lloyd Jr.

September 22, 1948 - June 22, 2024