Understanding the Unique Voice and Culture of the Gospel Musician
Session Abstract: It can be quite a challenge understanding the perspective of a student that walks into your choral classroom armed with only experience in contemporary gospel, and little to no music reading exposure. Through Cedric Dent’s time with 10-time GRAMMY award winning vocal group “TAKE 6”, we will explore the unique voice of the Black gospel musician, by seeking to understand the core of the gospel vocal sound, common gospel harmonic devices, and the cultural heartbeat that seeps through this special musical art. Participants will learn about how to better connect with, honor, and educate these students.
Matt Falker
Matt Falker is a jazz and gospel pianist, vocalist, arranger, and clinician. Falker distributes his vocal jazz arrangements through his publishing company, Anchor Music Publications (formerly Sound Music Publications founded by Frank DeMiero in 1988), as well as the music of dozens of other vocal jazz arrangers and composers. He is also the executive director of the Vocal Jazz Academy, a nonprofit organization dedicated to training and supporting vocal jazz educators primarily through a series of one-day jazz workshops for teachers and students. As a full-time piano and vocal jazz professor at MiraCosta College, Falker directs the Downbeat Award-winning Frequency vocal jazz program and hosts the Oceanside Jazz Festival. He also directed the Jazz Immersion Choir at the 2023 ACDA National Conference and served as a clinician for the 2026 Generations In Jazz Festival in Mount Gambier, South Australia.
Cedric Dent
Middle Tennessee State University
For 25 years, Cedric Dent, a native of Detroit, Michigan, was a baritone vocalist, music arranger, and co-producer of the 10-time GRAMMY Award-winning vocal group, TAKE 6. He is also a 2-time Grammy-nominated music arranger and created several arrangements for the Grammy-award winning recording Handel’s Messiah: A Soulful Celebration (1992).
A professor at Middle Tennessee State University, Dent directs the MTSU Singers (a vocal jazz ensemble), teaches a course he developed on the history of black gospel music, and teaches courses in music theory. He also coordinates the School of Music’s internship program for music industry majors.
