An Evening of Violin Soul w/ Dr. Melanie R. Hill

Join us Friday, July 19th for a spectacular and intimate showcase by internationally renowned classically-trained Gospel Soul Violinist Dr. Melanie R. Hill. Dr. Melanie will be taking us through a musical journey with her violin. Be sure to rsvp today because space is limited! Doors open at 8pm. Show starts at 9pm. About Dr. Melanie R. Hill Dr. Melanie R. Hill is an internationally renowned classically-trained Gospel Soul Violinist who has performed at the White House on two occasions under the Obama administration, the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., the Apollo Theater in New York, the Staples Center in Los Angeles, the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, and for Pope Francis’s Papal Mass during his historic visit to the United States. Hill has also been featured on Showtime at the Apollo, Good Day Philadelphia, Philadelphia Style Magazine, NY1, BET, TV One, and has performed for Alice Walker, Senator Rev. Dr. Raphael G. Warnock, Ms. Sabrina Fulton, Dr. Johnnetta B. Cole, Mrs. Susan L. Taylor, and opened for John Legend and Jonathan McReynolds. In collaboration with the Mourning into Unity project, Dr. Hill performed at Black Lives Matter Plaza in Washington, D.C., honoring lives lost due to the global pandemic. In honor of precious lives lost during the pandemic, Dr. Hill opened for the National Council of Churches before the sermon of Bishop Michael B. Curry, presiding Bishop and primate of the Episcopal Church. In addition to her music, Dr. Hill is Named Term Chair Andrew W. Mellon Assistant Professor of Global Racial Justice and Assistant Professor of American Literature with specializations in African American Literature, Black Music Performance, and Womanist Literature/Thought/Theology in the Department of English at Rutgers University, Newark. Hill received her Ph.D. in English Literature with two graduate certificates in Africana Studies and Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies from the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Hill has been a reviewer for the Yale Journal of Music and Religion and published articles on Black feminism/womanism and the art of the sermon in African American literature as well as on the works of blues and jazz vocalists Bessie Smith and Ella Fitzgerald under the Religions Journal and Oxford University Press, respectively. In addition, Dr. Hill has held positions as Associate Research Scholar and Visiting Assistant Professor of Religion and Literature at Yale University. Her forthcoming manuscript entitled, “Colored Women Sittin’ on High: Womanist Sermonic Practice in Literature and Music” (UNC Press) focuses on the ways in which Black women preachers in African American literature, music, and in the space of the pulpit counter social injustices through sermon and song. Recently, Dr. Hill’s research and pedagogical work has been featured in Princeton University’s Mellon Research Forum and the Teagle Foundation, respectively. Dr. Hill is grateful for God’s blessings and remains focused on sharing inspiration through her violin and spreading scholarship along the intersections of literature, music, and theology.