Sequina DuBose

Faculty Research Connections Profile

Dr. Sequina DuBose is Associate Professor of Classical and Contemporary Voice and Coordinator of the Musical Theatre Certificate Program at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. Her research centers on performance practice and pedagogy for 21st-century hybrid vocal literature, with particular emphasis on the intersection of classical music with contemporary commercial music, musical theatre, folk music traditions, and music of the African diaspora. Her forthcoming manuscript, Reverse Crossover: Classical Coordination Strategies for the Musical Theater and Commercial Music Singer, will be published in the Journal of Singing. She has presented her research at national and international venues, including the National Association of Teachers of Singing Summer Workshop, the Music by Women Festival, the International Congress of Voice Teachers, The Voice Foundation, the Association for Theatre in Higher Education, and the Azerbaijan National CoDr. Sequina DuBose is Associate Professor of Classical and Contemporary Voice and Coordinator of the Musical Theatre Certificate Program at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. Her research centers on performance practice and pedagogy for 21st-century hybrid vocal literature, with particular emphasis on the intersection of classical music with contemporary commercial music, musical theatre, folk music traditions, and music of the African diaspora. Her forthcoming manuscript, Reverse Crossover: Classical Coordination Strategies for the Musical Theater and Commercial Music Singer, will be published in the Journal of Singing. She has presented her research at national and international venues, including the National Association of Teachers of Singing Summer Workshop, the Music by Women Festival, the International Congress of Voice Teachers, The Voice Foundation, the Association for Theatre in Higher Education, and the Azerbaijan National Conservatory’s International Scientific and Practical Conference, in addition to numerous masterclasses and lecture recitals nationwide.

An accomplished soprano and crossover artist, Dr. DuBose maintains an active career spanning opera, concert work, and musical theatre. Her operatic and orchestral engagements include appearances with Opera Carolina, where she performed Donna Elvira in Eve Summer’s adaptation of Mozart’s Don Giovanni, as well as performances with the Virginia Arts Festival, Michigan Opera Theatre (now Detroit Opera), Tulsa Symphony, the Royal Danish Opera, and Ojai Youth Opera Company. She also performed the role of Clara in Opera Carolina’s production of Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess. Another highlight in her career includes having toured nationally as an ensemble member and soloist with Kathleen Battle in Underground Railroad: A Spiritual Journey, culminating in a performance at the Metropolitan Opera.

Her concert work reflects a strong commitment to culturally significant repertoire and large-scale choral works. She has performed with the American Spiritual Ensemble under Dr. Everett McCorvey and Chorale Le Chateau under Damien Sneed. She was a featured soloist in Wynton Marsalis’ Abyssinian Mass with the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra and appeared as soprano soloist with the Tulsa Symphony in commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the Tulsa Race Massacre. She also presented the Southeastern premiere of Margaret Bonds’ Credo at the Margaret Bonds Symposium at Queens University of Charlotte. Additional recent highlights include soprano soloist appearances in André Thomas’ Mass: A Celebration of Joy and Love with the Charlotte Master Chorale, Carmina Burana with the Western Piedmont Symphony, and a featured appearance with the Charlotte Symphony’s Holiday Pops concert.

A dedicated interpreter of contemporary repertoire, Dr. DuBose has premiered works by Maria Corley, Rachel Peters, Peter Hilliard, Matt Boresi, Nkeiru Okoye, Leonard Mark Lewis, and Rebecca Comerford and the creative team of Nightingale and the Tower, in which she created the role of Philomena. In 2019, she premiered Elegy: In Memoriam of the Emanuel Nine, honoring the victims of the Emanuel AME Church tragedy. Her recording projects include Blurred Lines: 21st Century Hybrid Vocal Literature (2022) on the Albany Records label and B.E. Boykin’s Moments in Sonder (2023), recorded as part of the WDAV 89.9 FM Classical Public Radio Recording Inclusivity Initiative.

In addition to her performance career, Dr. DuBose is an active commissioning artist and producer of new works. She serves as co-producer and co-commissioner of Bitter Laurel, the reconstruction and completion of an unpublished musical by Margaret Bonds, developed in collaboration with co-producer/co-commissioner Dr. Justin Smith, director/playwright Margarette Joyner, composer Christopher Washington, and musicologist Dr. Michael Cooper, with a fully realized score forthcoming in 2026/2027. She is also co-producer and co-commissioner, alongside Dr. Laura Waringer through Wanderlust: Theatre on Location, of THREADS, a new musical exploring the life and legacy of labor activist Ella May Wiggins and the 1929 Loray Mill massacre. She is currently preparing Bonds Unsung (Parma Recordings), a recording of lesser-known works by Margaret Bonds.

As a crossover artist, Dr. DuBose has performed Off-Broadway as Cleopatra in Antony and Cleopatra and in regional theatre productions including For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow Is Enuf, 7:32, The Musical (New York Musical Theater Festival), and Dreamgirls. She has also appeared in The Most Happy Fella and Show Boat with Utah Festival Opera & Musical Theatre.

An active arts advocate, Dr. DuBose serves as Board President of ArtsCentric, Board member of The International Florence Price Festival, Board member of Wanderlust: Theatre on Location, and a member of the Community Advisory Board of WDAV 89.9 FM Classical Public Radio. A native of Detroit, she holds degrees from Morgan State University, George Mason University, Manhattan School of Music, and the University of Maryland, College Park, where she studied with the late renowned soprano Carmen Balthrop. She is a lifetime member and serves as faculty advisor for Sigma Alpha Iota International Music Fraternity. She is also a member of the American Guild of Musical Artists and a Voting Member of the Recording Academy (GRAMMY Awards). For more information, visit www.SequinaDuBose.com