President Obama Nominates Dr. Ysaÿe Barnwell to the National Council on the Arts

On May 18, 2016, President Barack Obama announced his intent to nominate Dr. Ysaÿe M. Barnwell to the National Council on the Arts. Barnwell is the core instructor for CIIS Public Programs & Performances certificate program in Sound, Voice, and Music in the Healing Arts (SMVH).

The National Council on the Arts advises the Chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts on agency policies and programs, reviewing and making recommendations on applications for grants, funding guidelines, and leadership initiatives.

"I am delighted that Dr. Ysaÿe Barnwell was nominated by President Obama to such a prestigious position," says Silvia Nakkach, founder and coordinator of SVMH. "Ysaÿe has earned a significant reputation as a commissioned composer, arranger and conductor, author, master teacher, and choral clinician in African American cultural performance. We have been so privileged to have her as part our core instructors for eight years. I have had many opportunities to teach and sing with Ysaye who exudes and transmits both spiritual elegance and awakening in every note she sings, and every teaching she embodies."

Members are appointed by the President and are selected for their widely recognized knowledge of the arts or their expertise or profound interest in the arts. Currently, there are 18 members of the National Council on the Arts.

Dr. Ysaÿe M. Barnwell is President and Owner of Barnwell's Notes Publishing, Inc., positions she has held since 1985. From 1979 to 2013, Dr. Barnwell was a vocalist and composer for the Cappella quintet, Sweet Honey in the Rock TM, and also composed music for dance, choral, film, and stage productions. She was a Project Director at Gallaudet University from 1988 to 1991 and worked at Children's Hospital National Medical Center from 1982 to 1985. Dr. Barnwell was also a Professor of Speech Pathology in the College of Dentistry at Howard University from 1968 to 1980.  She received a B.S. and an M.S.Ed. from SUNY Geneseo, an M.S.P.H. from Howard University, and a Ph.D. from the University of Pittsburgh.