On this episode of Voices In My Head we welcome Dr. Francois Clemmons.
Dr. François Scarborough Clemmons is an Afro-American singer, actor, playwright and university lecturer. He is perhaps best known for his appearances as Officer Clemmons on the PBS television series Mister Rogers' Neighborhood from 1968 to 1993.
In 1968, Clemmons won the Metropolitan Opera auditions in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He went on to Cleveland, Ohio, where he won a position in the Metropolitan Opera Studio. He sang there professionally for seven seasons, performing over 70 roles with companies including The New York City Opera, Los Angeles Civic Light Opera, and Washington Civic Opera.
Clemmons sang with numerous orchestras, including the Cleveland Orchestra, the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, and the Philadelphia Orchestra. In 1973, he won a Grammy Award for a recording of Porgy and Bess; he performed the role of "Sportin' Life" in that musical over 100 times.
For 25 years, Clemmons performed the role of Officer Clemmons, a friendly neighborhood policeman, in the "Neighborhood of Make-Believe" on the children's television show Mister Rogers' Neighborhood. In the neighborhood itself, Clemmons ran a singing and dance studio located in the building diagonally across from Mr. Rogers' house. As "Officer Clemmons", he became one of the first African Americans to have a recurring role on a kids' TV series.
Clemmons actively writes across genres for a variety of age groups. Currently, he is writing his autobiography entitled DivaMan: My Life in Song, a children's story entitled ButterCup and the Majic Cane, and a volume of poetry entitled A Place Of My Own. Some of his published works include a volume of spirituals named Songs for Today and a stage musical called My Name Is Hayes based on the life of Roland Hayes. He also commissioned a choral work composed of spirituals entitled Changed My Name, arranged by Linda Twine.
From 1997 until his retirement in 2013, Clemmons was the Alexander Twilight Artist in Residence and director of the Martin Luther King Spiritual Choir at Middlebury College in Middlebury, Vermont. He “played the role of professor, choirmaster, resident vocal soloist, advisor, confidant, and community cheerleader”. He is also well known in the Middlebury community for his superb rendition of the "Star Spangled Banner", which he sings at the Middlebury College men's basketball games.
Clemmons lives and works in Middlebury, Vermont, where he is the Emeritus Artist in Residence of Middlebury College. He is a member of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia, the national fraternity for men in music.
Blessings,
Rick Lee James
www.RickLeeJames.com
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Episode 483: Elias Dummer - Voices In My Head (The Rick Lee James Podcast)
Episode 482- The Lost Sheep - Voices In My Head (The Rick Lee James Podcast)
Episode 481: Mindblown with Rich Kirkpatrick
Episode 480 - Meredith Mauldin - The Turning
Episode 479: Confessions of a Crappy Christian with Blake Guichet
Episode 478 -As I Walk These Halls
Episode #477 - Hiatus
Episode 476 - Lesli Hudson-Reynolds
Episode 475 - (Part 2) Pieter Valk Equips the Church To Love Gay People
Episode 474 - (Part 1) Pieter Valk Equips the Church To Love Gay People
Episode 473 - Brian Zahnd: When Everything’s On Fire
Episode 472 - THE WOOD DRAKE SESSIONS with Paul Ranheim and Kirk Sauers
Episode 471: The Soul of the Helper with Dr. Holly Oxhandler
Episode 470 - Have You Heard About Greg? - Greg O’Brien Chronicles His Journey with Alzheimer’s
Episode 469: Will Willimon - Listeners Dare
Episode 468: Nostalgic Future
Episode 467 -The Jesus Music with John J Thompson
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