Melanie DeMore
Outstanding singer and vocal activist Melanie DeMore believes in the power of voices
raised together to bring social and political change. As the subject of 'Stick and
Pound,’ she has helped preserve the African American folk tradition through song and
Gullah stick pounding. In her 30 year career she has taught, lectured, mentored,
conducted, directed and inspired both children and adults. She has presented,
conducted and soloed internationally, including Festival 500 in New Foundland,
Canada and Chorus America. She’s adjunct faculty at California Institute for Integral
Studies, lead teaching artist for TEMPO at UC Berkeley and a featured presenter for
SpeakOut! Institute for Social and Cultural Change. She has performed with Linda
Tillery and the Cultural Heritage Choir, Odetta, Richie Havens, Pete Seeger, the
Trinity Choir, and MUSE Cincinnati Women's Chorus, among others. She truly
embodies her own principle, 'A song can hold you up when there seems to be no
ground beneath you".
