Sharon J. Willis, D.M.A., academician, composer, church musician, artist, author, historical reenactor, and producer received her Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Vocal Performance from the University of Georgia; Master of Church Music degree, Scarritt Graduate School, Nashville; Master of Music Degree, Theory, Georgia State University, and Bachelor of Arts degree in Music, Clark College (CAU), Atlanta. Dr. Willis recently retired from the Music Chairmanship at Morris Brown College to pursue other career projects. Prior to returning to Morris Brown, she chaired the Department of Music at Clark Atlanta University, Associate Professor of Music (2005 to 2016); initiatives included the restructuring of the music curriculum, securing two United Methodist Grants to support the Commercial Composition Concentration. During her tenure at Morris Brown College, she served on the Accreditation Committee and served as the Curriculum Chair.

The Honoree holds memberships in several organizations: Executive Director and Founder of Americolor Opera Alliance, 1999. She is a member of the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP). Willis is the only woman composer in the United States to have founded an opera company and been its principal composer. The Company has premiered sixteen original operas and nine original plays based upon Afro-Centric, American and Health Awareness issues such as AIDS, Breast Cancer, Autism and Alzheimer ’s disease; inducted into the Phi Kappa Phi National Honor Society, Clark Atlanta University, one of the most distinguished Honor Society’s in America; inducted into Pi Kappa Lambda Music Honor Society, University of Georgia Chapter.

Dr. Willis is the recipient of many outstanding honors and awards including a commission from the American Guild of Organists’ 2022 Convention, Seattle, Washington; The Artistic Genius Award presented by the Pearls Literary Club, September 2022; The Atlanta Music Legends Award in honor of Legendary Contributions to the World of Music, December 2019; Kuumba Tribute for Excellence in the Arts, Delta Sigma Theta, Inc., 2019; Composer of the Year, National Pen Women, 2016; the Samuel Johnson Distinguished Music Educator’s Award, 2017; and a featured composer at the 2nd Annual Women Composer’s Festival, University of Mississippi for Women, March 2018. Awarded the Woman of Distinction by the Women for Morris Brown College 2015, March, Hyatt Regency Hotel; recipient of the Georgia Professional Women’s Association, Linda Torrence Arts and Humanities Award, August 2008; Extraordinary Service and Performance Honoree, Nu Lambda Omega Foundation of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., May 2008; the Teaching Excellence Award and one-thousand-dollar prize sponsored by the Vulcan Materials Company and Georgia Foundation for Independent Colleges, Incorporated, May 2004, Morris Brown College. The composer has several commissioned works having written for the American Guild of Organists in 2006, 2022; and the Georgia Music Educators Conference, the DeKalb Choral Guild, and several international concert artists. The composer has a music catalog of more than 200 compositions for voice, chorus, instruments, chamber, piano, organ, and orchestral works. The author has penned seven novels and has just published a special book titled Spiritual Story, dedicated to the history and creation of the African American Spiritual and the preservation of this authentic music.

In addition to her work as an academician and composer, Willis has had an extensive music ministry tenure in several Greater Atlanta churches including Beulah Baptist in Vine City, Ben Hill United Methodist, New Life Presbyterian, and Friendship Baptist Churches. She currently serves as the Director of the Sanctuary Choir at Hoosier Memorial United Methodist Church. Her ministry includes the use of musical dramas, dance, and heritage productions.