Darryl Singleton

Biography

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Assistant Professor of Black Music in America and Social Justice, Jazz Percussion, Jazz Lab Band

Hello! My name is Dr. Darryl M Singleton. My title is Assistant Professor of Black Music in America and Social Justice. As a member of the Jazz Studies faculty, I also teach jazz percussion and perform with Jazz Northwest, the faculty jazz ensemble. Additionally, I established and lead “Crimson Ties,” the WSU world music ensemble. And, I advise several RSOs (registered student organizations) including “Mariachi Leones del Monte,” WSU’s actively performing mariachi club housed here in Kimbrough Hall and “God’s Harmony Singers.”

I was born in Washington, D.C. and began my teaching career at the Duke Ellington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts. Notably, around that time, I became the first instrumental ensemble director at Gallaudet University for the Deaf and Hearing Impaired. I went on to teach band, percussion, theory, and arts survey courses at The University of the District of Columbia (1987-1990), Grambling State University (1990-1993), and Texas Southern University (1993-1998, 2004-2021). Just prior to my appointment at WSU, I spent two years as interim director of TSU’s famous “Ocean of Soul” Marching Band.

My interest in and service to the mission of HBCU’s (Historically Black Colleges and Universities) extended beyond duties as a faculty member at Texas Southern. In 2011 the membership of Texas Black Music Educators, an organization advocating diversity in music education, elected me president; in 2025 I “transcended” to president emeritus. Additionally, from 2020-2021 I was privileged to be selected to serve as an inaugural member of the TMEA (Texas Music Educators Association) DEIA committee. Currently, I am on the executive board of the HBCU National Band and Orchestra Directors Consortium, supporting that entity as the convention logistics coordinator.

As a percussionist, I have enjoyed a wide variety of experiences including performances with the Shreveport Symphony Orchestra, Gladys Knight, Aretha Franklin, Jennifer Holliday, and many others. I served 16 years as the principal percussionist of the Scott Joplin Chamber Orchestra and 4 years as drummer/percussionist in the Conrad Johnson (Jazz) Orchestra. I have composed and arranged for marching band, jazz big band, jazz combo, percussion ensemble, and solo percussion.

Here on the Palouse, I am active in a wide range of creative activity. I sat as principal percussionist of the Washington-Idaho Symphony from 2021-2023. I currently play in several musical projects. “Raza Northwest” started as a duo performing son jarocho, a folk music from Mexico, Brazilian samba pop, and reggae. It is now a five-piece band playing local venues and regional festivals with a Latin popular dance music focus (son, salsa, timba, cumbia, bachata, and more!) along with rock in Spanish and American classic rock. “Sultry Swines” plays rock, zydeco, forró, cumbia, and other lively music from around the world. I recently joined “North Polka Extension.” This is a “prog” polka band with banjo, accordion, tuba, and drums and includes pop polka covers. “MKJD Project” is neo soul and R&B. My setups vary between the groups I play in. Two interesting ones are: Raza Northwest – I play a hybrid drum set that includes timbale, conga, bongos, foot cowbell, and foot jam block; and Sultry Swines – I play congas, bongos, timbales, pandeiro, Brazilian triangle, washboard, and more.

Outside of music I have written and directed plays and musicals for schools and community organizations. “Angels are Busy” is a self-produced spoken-word CD my wife and I produced. Interestingly, my first faculty performance at WSU in 2021 involved composing and performing spoken word for “Intersecting Expressions,” a recital featuring fellow faculty member Christiano Rodrigues on violin. Along the way I picked up experience in music production, videography, live sound, and lighting design. And, my fluency in Spanish resulted from five years we spent as a missionary family in Latin America. That particular part of my background is the connection to my work with WSU’s mariachi.

I received a Bachelor of Music Education degree from Howard University, a Master of Music in Music Performance (percussion) from Florida State University and earned my terminal degree, Doctor of Musical Arts in Music Education, from Boston University. The dissertation document, “Black Band for Brown Students,” investigated some of the pedagogical and cultural assumptions present in music education. That socio-critical focus, along with my background and continued interest in world music, is a large part of why I feel so at home as a member of the Coug Family that I joined as part of WSU’s cluster hire addressing racism and social inequality. It also fuels much of my (mostly community-engaged) research, service, and other activities. A recent highlight was a trip I took in 2024 to Cuba, learning more about its music traditions and how they are passed on today.

In 2026, I am currently involved in two edited book projects. I also continue serving regularly as an adjudicator or clinician in the areas of jazz and percussion. I still engage with high school marching band programs. In 2025 I composed the percussion arrangement for a high school marching show, and occasionally teach clinics, consult, and write percussion music. And, I present at state, regional, and international conferences like JEN and The Midwest Clinic.

My students call me “Doc D” and in 2025 I celebrated my 30th year of marriage to my wife, Valencia Kay. Other than my main hobby – music, I enjoy biking and martial arts-related fitness. Valencia and I are the proud parents of two “adult boys” who also reside in Pullman. I also have two daughters who reside in Los Angeles and Nashville.

I am an educational endorser of ProMark sticks and mallets.