Department of Music Welcomes Jillian Harrison-Jones to Faculty

The U of A Department of Music is pleased to announce the addition of Jillian Harrison-Jones to the choral area for spring 2026. As an adjunct faculty member, she will be director of Schola Cantorum and the Collegiate Chorale, teach other courses in the choral curriculum and rehearse the Community Music School's Arkansas Master Chorale.

A native of Rochester, New York, Harrison-Jones is a graduate of the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, where she earned a Doctor of Musical Arts in choral conducting with a cognate in voice. She is an accomplished conductor and performing artist with a distinguished national and international profile. Her choral experience includes work as director of choral music at the historic Witherspoon Presbyterian Church (IN) and as CEO of Resonance Studios, LLC.

Harrison-Jones has performed and taught throughout the United States, Africa, Asia, South America and Europe. Her most recent international appearances include serving as a featured soloist at the Teatro Metropolitano with the Jeremy Winston Chorale and the Latin Grammy Award-winning Orquesta Filarmónica de Medellín for "Góspel Sinfónica" concert in Medellín, Colombia. She also performed as Aretha Franklin in "A Tribute to the Blues Brothers" in Altmark, Germany, and the Prague PROMS concert series with the Czech National Symphony.

In addition to her conducting and performance career, Harrison-Jones' research interest is in the performance practice and scholarship of African American spirituals and gospel music. This work has brought to light forgotten and lesser-known choral works of deceased African American composers and uplifted the works of new, living minority composers.

"Dr. Harrison-Jones brings exceptional training, significant professional experience and a deep commitment to student development," said Jeffrey Allen Murdock, director of choral activities. "Her work as a conductor and artist at the highest levels will be a tremendous asset to our students and to the Department of Music."