Dear Howard University Community,
 

The music world is mourning the passing of a legend, James Weldon Norris, D. Mus. (B.Mus. ’59, M. Mus. ’60), former director of university choirs and bands and professor emeritus of music history in the Chadwick A. Boseman College of Fine Arts. Over the course of a career that spanned decades, Dr. Norris combined his love of music with a passion for teaching to inspire countless people around the globe to embrace a common harmony. He lived, loved, and gave of himself to the world for ninety years of excellence.  

James Weldon Norris, D. Mus.

A historian, a composer, an instructor, and an alumnus, Dr. Norris returned to Howard in 1973 after leading choral activities and serving as chair of the Humanities department at Morris College. Under his leadership at Howard, the music program was elevated to new heights and the Howard University Choir was showcased around the world, including heralded performances at the White House, the National Gallery of Art, the International Choral Festival in Rome, the International Choral Festival in Tokyo, and the first International Festival of University Choirs in Spain. The grandson of a Baptist preacher, he was an internationally renowned scholar on Negro spirituals and spoke on the topic around the world, from Hamburg, Germany to Krakow, Poland. The Library of Congress enlisted Dr. Norris to lead a workshop on African American Spirituals of the Civil War. 

Dr. Norris was an acclaimed musicologist, whose body of work includes the seminal arrangement of the spiritual “Lord, I Don’ Don’” and the musical score for a documentary on abolitionist John Brown, which Norris created and recorded. An esteemed voice with cross-cultural respect, he served on educational and music panels for the National Endowment for the Arts, the District of Columbia Commission on the Arts and Humanities, and the State of Maryland’s Governor's Advisory Committee on Careers in the Arts for People with Disabilities. Early in his career, he was awarded a Ford Foundation fellowship, and later in life, Howard University named him a Distinguished Alumnus, one of the University’s highest honors.  

As eloquently expressed by Carroll Dashiel, Jr., current chair of Howard’s Department of Music, “Dr.  Norris was a beloved faculty member, mentor, colleague and friend who served the academy, music industry and arts community for more than five decades and was a pillar of the Howard University Department of Music family. His contributions and love for the arts are characteristics that all artists strive to achieve, and his pursuit of excellence enhanced the awareness of a quality life enriched by and from the arts. His legacy will live forever through Howard University as he modulates to the next key of his journey.” 

While our hearts are saddened because of his passing, they are eternally warmed because of the life he lived. As we convey our sincerest sympathies to his family and all who loved him, please join us in celebrating his extraordinary impact on Howard and around the world. 
 

In Truth and Service,

Office of University Communications