Mr. Mel White

Coordinator Recruitment
Director of Vocal Studies and the Ambassador Chorale

Mel White has been credited with reformatting the Ambassador Chorale to include popular music and gospel, in addition to traditional classical compositions and Negro spirituals.  He shares a wealth of experiences and creative talents with students as an outstanding teacher, performer, arranger and motivator.  He received the Bachelor of Arts in voice from Tougaloo College in Mississippi and a Master of Arts in Choral Conducting from the Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio, where he graduated Summa Cum Laude.

Prof. White has had an enriched background of developmental musical studies and experiences in the field.  His talents began to be developed at an early age under the instruction of his grandmother, who was a well-known piano teacher, performer and choral director.  He was also influenced  and highly motivated by his father, Melvin White, Sr., who played percussions for several years with the renowned Count Basie Band. A sibling danced professionally with the famed Alvin Ailey Dance Troup in New York and this made a significant impact upon Prof. White’s musical aspirations. Melvin’s musical development, training and experiences were greatly enhanced as a result of being surrounded by a world of musical experiences and a musically talented family that positively influenced him and served as his role models.

His undergraduate honors include being acknowledged for excellence as a student conductor of his college choir for the full four years.  At the graduate level, he finished in the top five percent of his class from the Ohio State University.  In addition to outstanding achievement in music as an vocal talent, he also received other academic and artistic awards which include:  Herf Jones Keys Graduate Fellowship Award,  Conductor Emeritus for the Ohio Farm Bureau Federation of Secondary School Singers, Visiting Professor for the Episcopal Mission Society of Advanced Vocal Studies in Tunisia, Africa, and many other community awards and commendations.

In addition to serving as the director of the Ambassador Chorale, he teaches vocal instruction and ”standing room only” courses in Music Appreciation.  He is a mentor in the University’s mentoring program for more than fifty students.  More recently, Prof. White has been appointed to head the University’s involvement as partner to the Gospel Complex for Education and Preservation.  He will work alongside the world famous Dr. Bobby Jones who is spearheading moving the capital of gospel music to south Florida.  As a member of the Education Division to this proposed multimillion dollar Gospel museum to be housed in this area, Prof. White will work with educators, scholars and famous gospel artists to ensure the preservation of gospel music and provide education and mentoring to aspiring young artists and musicians.