It was a hot, summer Houston day in 1994. Outside, the buzzing of cicadas could be heard under the swelling sun. Cameron J. Ross (Theatre ‘06) was seven years old. He was going to the local movie theater on I-10 East and Federal Road with his mother, where the matinees were one dollar. They were going to see Crooklyn, Spike Lee’s new coming-of-age film about a young Black girl named Troy and her life in 1970s Brooklyn. It was important to his mother that he be exposed to media that celebrated...

HSPVA senior photo.Conducting at the February 2020 "Gospel Spirit" concert featuring the Houston Choral Society and the Prairie View A&M University Concert Chorale. Photos courtesy of Dr. Taylor.This year’s back-to-school season marks the end of Dr. A. Jan Taylor’s (Vocal ‘75) first year of retirement. Last summer, after 39 years of teaching, she celebrated an illustrious 26-year career as Prairie View A&M University’s Director of Choral Music Activities. But before she became the...

Herman Matthews (Jazz '79) grew up in Acres Home on the Northside of Houston. While watching The Lawrence Welk Show as a six-year-old, he started showing an interest in the drums. It wasn’t long before he was hand drumming "Wipe Out" onto his desk at Durkee Elementary and driving his poor first grade teacher crazy in the process. She promptly delivered him to the school’s music teacher, if for no other reason than for self-preservation. At age 11, Matthews started playing drums alongside his...

“All the world’s a stage,” the famous quote begins, “and all the men and women merely players.” This opening phrase from Shakespeare’s As You Like It can suggest the idea that aspects of performance and performativity are interwoven throughout our day-to-day lives, both public and private. At any given moment, we are all actors in perpetual performance, often juggling multiple roles at once. Someone who appears to comfortably read books alone at the bar. Someone who “doesn’t need a straw” for...