About the Author

Tim Sharp holds the Elizabeth G. Daughdrill Chair in the Fine Arts at Rhodes College in Memphis, where he administrates the Center for Outreach in the Development of the Arts and is associate dean for fine arts. Dr. Sharp conducts the Rhodes Singers and MasterSingers Chorale and teaches conducting and African American music. He is a life fellow at Clare Hall, University of Cambridge, where he continues his ongoing research on the life and music of German Moravians. The images for Memphis Music: Before the Blues come from private family collections as well as private and public libraries and archives.