Bryon K. Black II (b. 1989) is an active choral conductor and composer. He currently serves as an Assistant Professor of Music and Director of Choirs at DePauw University. He received his D.M.A. in Choral Conducting at the University of South Carolina. A native of Akron, OH, he received his B.M. in Music Education from Ashland University, and his M.M. in Choral Conducting from Kent State University. Bryon later served on the KSU School of Music faculty, conducting the KSU Coro Cantare (formerly Men’s Chorus) and KSU Gospel Choir, as well as teaching courses in choral conducting. He also has extensive work in church music, serving in Presbyterian, Methodist, Lutheran, and United Methodist churches. This includes six years as the Director of Music at Tallmadge Lutheran Church.

Bryon’s choral compositions have been performed by ensembles at several institutions, including William Jewell College, Slippery Rock University and the University of Lincoln-Nebraska. Under his direction, the KSU Coro Cantare premiered original compositions by Bryon written specifically for their ensemble, as well as world premieres of compositions by area composers. In May 2022, he conducted the premiere of his choral/orchestral arrangement of Be the Change at Severance Hall. The Kent State University School of Music commissioned this arrangement as part of the University’s commemoration of the campus shootings on May 4, 1970. In November 2018, he and Durrell LeGrair premiered many of their arrangements of traditional African American concert spirituals for In the Spirit! as a part of the “Faith at Four” concert series at Faith Lutheran Church in Akron. Bryon started The Harvest Choir in 2017 to perform original, uplifting choral works for independent concerts, including premiere performances of his compositions. In December 2016, he premiered On Christmas Night, a cantata consisting of original arrangements for chorus and orchestra, for services at Tallmadge Lutheran Church. Some of Bryon’s ensembles performed for public programs at Stan Hywet Hall & Gardens in Akron, including the Deck the Hall, an annual holiday event. He has worked with the choirs in Akron’s Youth Excellence Performing Arts Workshop (YEPAW) Summer Intensive program and the 365 Leadership Academy for many years. He has also served as a guest conductor and clinician for various choral festivals and other events throughout Northeast Ohio and South Carolina.

Bryon has performed solos and sung in choruses professionally, including performing at Carnegie Hall with Distinguished Concerts International New York (DCINY). This included preparing the Tallmadge Lutheran Church Chancel Choir to sing Mary Donald and Joel Raney’s original cantata Sing Christmas at Carnegie Hall in November 2019. He has also conducted operatic staged works such as Stinney: An American Execution and The Handmaid’s Tale with Glow Lyric Theatre in Greenville, SC. He currently holds membership in the American Choral Directors Association, National Collegiate Choral Organization, and the College Music Society. Bryon formerly served on the Board of the Ohio Choral Directors Association as the Chair of the Standing Committee for Diversity. Under his direction, performances by the KSU Gospel Choir and Coro Cantare were featured in the 2020 and 2021 OCDA Summer Conferences. Bryon resides in Indianapolis, IN with his wife Briannah.