C. Susheel Bibbs
- Courses3
- Reviews13
- School: University of California Berkeley
- Campus:
- Department: Engineering
- Email address: Join to see
- Phone: Join to see
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Location:
Sproul Plaza
Berkeley, CA - 94720 - Dates at University of California Berkeley: April 2005 - January 2010
- Office Hours: Join to see
Biography
University of California Berkeley - Engineering
touring classical singer-actress, author, and award-winning filmmaker
Performing Arts
Susheel
Bibbs
Sacramento, California Area
To contribute to the preservation and presentation of those who have made contributions to our world, many of them almost forgotten, many of them made by African Americans and women. To continue singing and presenting films that express my experience and illumine those on whose shoulders we stand.
Experience
Touring artist-lectuer
Soprano/Master class presenter
I sang opera internationally and now sing in my own touring presentations, in films, and in special shows & concerts. I give master classes on the Spiritual and coach classical singers.
The Living Heritage Foundation
Executive Director
I act as President-Executive Director of this Foundation, designed to mentor, fiscally sponsor, and support projects/individuals that present and preserve works on African American history/culture and women of note.
U.C. Berkeley
Interdisciplinary Studies
I lectured in research (techical) communications in the Interdisciplinary Studies Department -- which means teaching others to adapt their work in various media to various audiences, both orally and in print.
Hold a PhD in Communications with an emphasis in the Mass Communication of African and Diaspora HistoryDaya Kay Communications Inc.
Performer-filmmaker
For DKC, Inc.
--As contractor, I perform as an actress and singer, produce/direct documentary films, write books/scripts, and present master classes. I have had 4 films on PBS, one at Cannes, 12+ awards
--As Director, I supervise the development of all productions for stage, screen, and print media.M.E.P. productions/Publications (divs. of DKC, Inc.)
Classical singer-filmmaker-author
As classical singer and actress, I create/perform in unique stage works, & direct, write, and perform in company films.
Background: Susheel, a well-known touring classical singer and actress, author, and award-winning filmmaker, is also known as the foremost expert on Mary Ellen Pleasant (Mother of Civil Rights in California). Bibbs, who also lectured at UC Berkeley, now presents programs nationwide, creates unique performance documentaries, and runs Daya Kay Communications, a presentation, filmmaking firm. She is Executive Director of the Living Heritage Foundation, a sponsorship, grant-giving non-profit.
Achievements: Bibbs holds a Bachelors in Opera, Mozarteum diplomas and a Masters from New England Conservatory in Vocal Performance, and a PhD in Communications. She has appeared in opera and concert in the US, Europe, and Canada, and on television internationally. Highlights include appearances with The Opera Co. of Boston, Assoc. Artists Opera, Santa Fe Opera, Mozarteum on TV, Alice Tully Hall, LA Mozart Orchestra, Camellia & Las Vegas Civic Symphonies, and tours of her own one-woman works on Black composers, activist-pioneer Mary Ellen Pleasant, and the 1880's African-Am. divas --The Hyers Sisters.
With CPB training and a degree in Communications, she has won numerous film-broadcast awards including a NATIONAL EMMY for her work as a Public-Television Executive Producer and six recent film festival/broadcast awards for her PBS documentaries on Mary Pleasant. For her “tireless efforts in the arts and humanities,” and her work on the spiritual, black song composers, and on Pleasant, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors has awarded Susheel Bibbs their Highest Commendation. She has also been commended for her book Heritage of Power, recently released in a 6x9 Enhanced Edition, and by the African-American Museum, Los Angeles, & the City Museum, St. Louis, for “extending the awareness of her community” and “making contributions to women’s history.”
Education
Breyer State University
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Mass Communication/Media Studies
Note: Breyer State offered a well-guided, challenging, personally supervised & tailored program when I worked with them. Took online courses and courses they required: (taken thru film Arts Foundation, SF), including digital cameras, distribution, DVD authoring, and extended coursework on Final Cut Pro. Dissertation: authored/produced 3 archival discs on the research behind my Mary Pleasant Chautauquas, gave required Oral public defense at AAMLO, Oakland. Discs housed at AAMLO.Boston University
Bachelor of Music (BM)
Voice and Opera
College for the Arts (CFA), previously known as Boston University School for the Arts and School of Fine and Applied ArtsNew England Conservatory of Music
Master of Music
vocal performance
Publications
Heritage of Power, Marie LaVeaux to Mary Ellen Pleasant
M.E.P. Publications
New Enhanced Edition: 6”x 9” ISBN 9781892516046 177 pages (inc. index, bibliography) Daya Kay Communications, Inc./ M.E.P. Publications BISAC: History / Social, California, American, African-American History/ Biography/ Women’s Studies -The first book to document the civil-rights accomplishments of Mary Ellen Pleasant, Mother of Civil Rights in California. Did the woman of mystery called Mary Ellen Pleasant really assist abolitionist John Brown, and was she aided by New Orleans’ most famous Voodoo queen, Marie LaVeaux? Did Pleasant receive a “Heritage of Power” from LaVeaux, and if so, what was it, and how did it come about? This revised and enhanced work answers these questions & captures the latest research on Mary Ellen Pleasant’s life. It tells her story as it demystifies LaVeaux and vodou, the unique, traditional religion that influenced the civil-rights accomplishments of both women.
Heritage of Power, Marie LaVeaux to Mary Ellen Pleasant
M.E.P. Publications
New Enhanced Edition: 6”x 9” ISBN 9781892516046 177 pages (inc. index, bibliography) Daya Kay Communications, Inc./ M.E.P. Publications BISAC: History / Social, California, American, African-American History/ Biography/ Women’s Studies -The first book to document the civil-rights accomplishments of Mary Ellen Pleasant, Mother of Civil Rights in California. Did the woman of mystery called Mary Ellen Pleasant really assist abolitionist John Brown, and was she aided by New Orleans’ most famous Voodoo queen, Marie LaVeaux? Did Pleasant receive a “Heritage of Power” from LaVeaux, and if so, what was it, and how did it come about? This revised and enhanced work answers these questions & captures the latest research on Mary Ellen Pleasant’s life. It tells her story as it demystifies LaVeaux and vodou, the unique, traditional religion that influenced the civil-rights accomplishments of both women.
The Art of the Spiritual --A Brief Guide to Enhance Appreciation & Performance of the Spiritual through Its Interpretive Elements and Heritage
2004
This work draws upon the author's 1) research into rare writings on spirituals (such as those by Boatner, Hayes, & Hall Johnson). 2) field work in the US and in West Africa, 3) experiences performing the spiritual on tour since childhood, and 4) understandings gleaned from coaching or performances with great exponents of the spiritual, such as Kenneth Brown Billups, Silvia Olden Lee, William Duncan Allen, and William Warfield. Based on these, the article-booklet offers the several key interpretive aspects of the spiritual, the importance of dialect, the use of rhythmic and melodic variation, and key African cultural influences in interpreting these songs. It offers musical examples to demonstrate ways in which these elements can be used to enhance performance and appreciation of the music. And, it offers pronunciation guides to enable singers to create artistic and authentic performances.
