Afrocentric Voices in “Classical” Music launched in February 1998 by soprano and researcher Randye Jones. The site started small, with a handful of biographies on musicians such as composer H. T. Burleigh and contralto Marian Anderson as well as a bibliography of relevant music resources. However, since Afrocentric Voices moved to its current domain in December 1999, it has seen the addition of several features, including the 2001 addition of a chronology of achievements by African American vocalists, composers and publishers, and a gallery of pictures of internationally renowned African American singers and composers of vocal music, which has now become a Pinterest page that shares the name Afrocentric Voices.
In 2008, Afrocentric Voices Radio was launched. The stated goal of the online station was to provide “a range of Classical music often missed by traditional Classical music stations.” The station and its sister online station, Afrocentric Sounds, closed in January 2016. The stations briefly re-launched in 2020 as Afrocentric Sounds Radio, an online station featuring classical music written and/or performed by the African diaspora. The combined station, Afrocentric Sounds Radio, re-launched in January 2026. For more information about Afrocentric Sounds Radio, visit its website at https://afrocentricsounds.net/ or click the play button below to listen free to the online radio station, go to https://live365.com/station/Afrocentric-Sounds–Classical–a96259, or search for Afrocentric Sounds Radio on the Live365 app.
When Afrocentric Voices first opened, there was no other site that focused on the accomplishments of African Americans on the opera or concert stage. Fortunately, other researchers have also taken on the task of spreading the word about these historic and contemporary musicians. Additionally, more living musicians are using the Internet to share their own histories with us all. Therefore, Afrocentric Voices has changed its focus to selecting new biographical subjects whose careers have not yet received the level of recognition online they richly deserve.
To cite this page:
Afrocentric Voices in Classical Music. Created by Randye Jones. Created/Last modified: February 16, 2026. Accessed:. http://www.afrovoices.com/wp/about-afrocentric-voices.