Assistant Professor
Email
E.L. Hamm Fine Arts Building, room 401
757-823-8575
Dr. Bianca Jackson, music educator and classically trained soprano, is an Assistant Professor of Music at Norfolk State University, where she teaches applied voice, diction, vocal pedagogy, and African American music. A dynamic vocal music studio performs classical and contemporary music. Her students have graduated to become music educators, perform with professional organizations, such as the Virginia Opera chorus, and the United States Army Band. Bianca possesses over twenty years’ experience in classical, sacred, and contemporary genres and has performed across the U.S. and in Italy. She also is an active performer in church and community programs. Regionally, Bianca has performed with Virginia Opera and been featured soloist with the Norfolk State University Theatre Company. Her debut recital in Hampton Roads (Virginia) was with the Chesapeake Civic Chorus. With nearly 10 years teaching experience, she has also proudly served as a public schools music education teacher.
Bianca has a lifelong investment to express Black creativity, performing Black folk, operatic, classical, and contemporary vocal music. Her research has sought to highlight the Black voice in classical music. Bianca presented at the 2020 National Opera Association’s Southeastern Regional Conference on cultural trauma in selected operas by William Grant Still. She was presenter and panelist on the history and impact of spirituals at the 2021 Virginia Chapter and Mid-Atlantic Regional Conferences for the National Association of Teachers of Singing. During the pandemic she has been an active performer in virtual performances with musicians across the U.S. and around the world. She previously served as the Scholarship Chair for the Tidewater Area Musicians Branch of the National Association of Negro Musicians and has served as adjudicator of independent film festivals, music competitions, and HBCU pageants. Bianca has been featured soloist on several recordings. As a singer-songwriter and poet, Bianca has composed music for stage plays and historical events dealing with Black issues.
Honors include a Mississippi Arts Commission Fellowship, encouragement award for the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, first place at Texoma NATS, and finalist in New York City’s Career Bridges Competition. She is an alumni of the Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowship and the Institute for the Recruitment of Teachers.
EDUCATION
B.A. Music Education, Tougaloo College
B.A. Music Performance with emphasis in voice and piano, Tougaloo College
M.M. Vocal Performance, The University of Louisiana at Monroe
D.M.A. Vocal Performance with certification in African and African American Studies, The University of Texas at Austin
AREAS OF INTEREST
African American music and spirituals
African American opera and composers
Cultural trauma, arts and wellness
Diversifying classical music
PUBLICATIONS & PERFORMANCES
Bianca Jackson: Soprano, Educator, and Performing Artist
Performances of Dr. Jackson's Voice Studio and NSU African American Music Recitals
COURSES AT NSU
Applied Voice
African American Music
Graduate Vocal Pedagogy
Vocal Diction