MUSE • Musicians United for Social Equity

Biography

Pianist Gary Mitchell, Jr. regularly collaborates with renowned singers, instrumentalists, artists, and ensembles, ranging from opera to musical theatre, classical, sacred, jazz, and gospel. A concert and recording artist, Gary has performed throughout the world.

An Arkansas Native, he began to study piano while in third grade. He went on to Jackson State University. He is a concert maestro, an actor, a pianist, vocalist, organist, composer, conductor, arranger, and music director.

Gary debuted as Noah “Horse” T. Simmons in The Full Monty at The Clink Theatre, Port Douglas, Queensland, Australia. Prior, he debuted (music director and pianist) as Jimmy Powers in Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar and Grill, at Portland Stage Theatre. He has also appeared in productions at The Cape Playhouse and Barrington Stage Theatre.

He has collaborated and performed with MTV, Steinway International, and he is Music Director and Pianist with Phillip Boykin’s (the) New York Gospel Brothers; they recently completed a successful tour in Japan and Mitchell debuted at Carnegie Hall!

Mitchell also portrayed Jasbo Brown in Porgy and Bess at The Royal Danish Opera House-Copenhagen. He has performed at Mississippi Opera, Grand Central Station, Library of Congress, Dance Theatre of Harlem, St. Patrick’s Cathedral, Harlem Opera Theatre, Lincoln Center, Convent Avenue, Harlem Stage Theatre (Antigone in Ferguson), Abyssinian Baptist Church, NAACP ACT-SO, Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority with select appearances in Spain, Italy, Germany, and Switzerland. Additionally, he has been guest lecturer at Columbia University.

Previously, Gary was a bass vocalist at Houston Grand Opera and Artist-in-Residence at Wheeler Avenue Baptist Church-Houston, and now serves as Director of Music and Arts Administration at First AME Church: Bethel-Harlem and as Tony Nominee, Charl Brown’s Music Director. He is Artist-in-Residence at Union Theological Seminary, and The Interchurch Center, while previously serving in the professoriates of Tougaloo College, Texas Southern University, and Houston’s High School for the Performing and Visual Arts.

Gary is a composing member of ASCAP, and member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia Fraternity of America, Inc., PHA Aurora Lodge, The National Association of Negro Musicians (NANM), The American Guild of Musical Artists (AGMA), and Actor’s Equity Association (AEA).