Jeannine Otis, also known as "Jahneen," is an American singer, educator and music director.

Early life and education

At the age of 16, she was accepted early to Wellesley College and was the first African-American to a Presser Music Scholar. She earned a BA in Sociology and Musicology. She went on to earn an MA in Theater Education and Performance at

Emerson College Emerson College is a private college with its main campus in Boston, Massachusetts. It also maintains campuses in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California and Well, Limburg, Netherlands ( Kasteel Well). Founded in 1880 by Charles Wesley Emerson as a ...

, where she won a teaching fellowship.

Career

She has performed with Kool and the Gang, the Shirelles,

Grover Washington Jr. Grover Washington Jr. (December 12, 1943 – December 17, 1999) was an American jazz-funk and soul-jazz saxophonist. Along with Wes Montgomery and George Benson, he is considered by many to be one of the founders of the smooth jazz genre. He wr ...

, Eliot Goldenthal,

Pete Seeger Peter Seeger (May 3, 1919 – January 27, 2014) was an American folk singer and social activist. A fixture on nationwide radio in the 1940s, Seeger also had a string of hit records during the early 1950s as a member of the Weavers, notably ...

and many leading hip-hop artists. She has worked in theater with

Galt MacDermot Arthur Terence Galt MacDermot (December 18, 1928 – December 17, 2018) was a Canadian-American composer, pianist and writer of musical theater. He won a Grammy Award for the song " African Waltz" in 1960. His most-successful musicals were ''Hai ...

Liz Swados Elizabeth Swados (February 5, 1951 – January 5, 2016) was an American writer, composer, musician, and theatre director. Swados received Tony Award nominations for Best Musical, Best Direction of a Musical, Best Book of a Musical, Best Origin ...

and Robert Lupone. She wrote a book published by

Seabury Press HarperOne is a publishing imprint of HarperCollins, specializing in books that aim to "transform, inspire, change lives, and influence cultural discussions." Under the original name of Harper San Francisco, the imprint was founded in 1977 by 13 em ...

, titled ''The Gathering'', based on her work with imprisoned teenagers. ''The Gathering'' has been turned into a theatrical performance. She worked with the New York City Department of Education as an Arts in Education evaluator. She has toured extensively in productions of ''

Porgy and Bess ''Porgy and Bess'' () is an English-language opera by American composer George Gershwin, with a libretto written by author DuBose Heyward and lyricist Ira Gershwin. It was adapted from Dorothy Heyward and DuBose Heyward's play '' Porgy'', itse ...

''. She received a Lifetime Achievement Award from The City Council of New York, the St. Mark's Griffin Outreach Award, the William A. Morris Award from the NAACP, and a Reggie for her Staten Island appearance in ''The Cradle Will Rock'' (which she also performed in Manhattan), and she is listed in "Who's Who in America." She has performed at the Staten Island Jazz Festival for many years, at the Empowering Voices Dinner Gala hosted by Illuminart Productions in 2018. Currently, she is a

Warner Warner can refer to: People * Warner (writer) * Warner (given name) * Warner (surname) Fictional characters * Yakko, Wakko, and Dot Warner, stars of the animated television series ''Animaniacs'' * Aaron Warner, a character in ''Shatter Me s ...

European recording artist, has been music director for St. Marks Church-in-the-Bowery for 25 years, an outreach/education coordinator for the Staten Island Museum, and president and consultant for Light of Mine Productions. She collaborated with

Heikki Sarmanto Heikki Veli Uolevi Sarmanto (born 22 June 1939) is a Finnish jazz pianist and composer. Sarmanto was born in Helsinki, Finland, and began to play jazz during the 1960s. He studied first at the Sibelius Academy and later at the Berklee College of ...

on '' Magic Song''.

Personal life

Jeannine lives on Staten Island in New York City with her long-time partner, Larry Marshall.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Otis, Jeannine Year of birth missing (living people) Living people 20th-century American educators American women singers Emerson College alumni Musicians from Staten Island Wellesley College alumni 20th-century American women 21st-century American women