About Lynn Bridges...

Lynn Bridges, born in Lincoln, Nebraska on July 31, 1960, attended Oberlin High School and later graduated (cum laude) from Central State University in Wilberforce, Ohio. While at Central State, she received numerous academic awards, including the Presser Foundation Scholar Award, and a scholarship for study abroad, in Anger, France. She earned the Masters of Music and Doctorate of Musical Arts degrees (1994) from The University of Michigan where she was a Rackham Merit Fellow. Her voice teachers at Michigan were Rosemary Russell, Earl Coleman and George Shirley. While a graduate student, she was a winner of the Leontyne Price and Doris V. Markel vocal competitions. She participated in music programs in Italy as well as the Aspen Music Festival Opera Theater program. Her doctoral dissertation recitals emphasized German Lieder of the early twentieth century, Baroque and Classical vocal chamber music; and the African-American spiritual. She performed with the Michigan Opera Theater and presented solo voice recitals in Michigan, Ohio, Georgia and North Carolina. She was an advisor for the Spirituals project, a video documentary on African-American spirituals and a board member of VIDEMUS, a non-profit organization that promotes the concert music of African-American, women and other under-represented composers. From 1994-1996, she was an Assistant Professor of Voice at Clark Atlanta University in Atlanta, Georgia. At the time of her death, she was in her third year teaching at North Carolina Central University where she was an Assistant Professor of Voice.

Lynn Bridges dedicated her life to the pursuit of academic excellence. Although her life and teaching career were short, she inspired her students at North Carolina Central and Clark Atlanta Universities to excel. A diligent student of the voice, she consistently worked to improve her own vocal talents while encouraging her students to do the same. As the secretary of the board of VIDEMUS from 1997-1999, she took her responsibilities seriously and worked tirelessly to help achieve goals set forth by the board. We here at VIDEMUS have chosen to honor her spirit and commitment to education by establishing the Lynn Bridges Memorial award at the University of Michigan to encourage future generations of minority educators.

“I am so thankful for the wonderful Lynn Bridges Memorial Award that was made available to me at the University of Michigan through Videmus. The commitment to excellence and integrity that this awards represents is what I continuously strive for in my conducting and teaching.”

-  Eugene Rogers