Featured Composers for 2025–2026
At J.W. Pepper, we remain focused on supporting today’s composers and elevating the work of independent creators publishing through My Score. Their catalogs bring original music to educators and performers worldwide, contributing to a diverse and evolving repertoire. Each month, we feature composers whose work reflects the creativity and dedication of this community.
Congratulations to the Composer of the Month for July, Raymond Wise! We’re also highlighting nine additional composers whose profiles offer insight into their musical backgrounds, artistic perspectives, and recent contributions to My Score.
Composer of the Month
Raymond Wise
Church Choral
Raymond Wise, Ph.D., a native of Baltimore, Maryland, began his musical career at the age of three singing gospel music with his family singing group, The Wise Singers. Dr. Wise earned a BFA in music (piano and voice) from Denison University (Granville, Ohio). He completed an apprenticeship in the business and recording of gospel music with the Walter Hawkins Corporation in Oakland, California. Dr. Wise was awarded a graduate fellowship from the Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio, where he earned a master’s in music education, Ohio Teacher’s Certification, and a doctorate in music education.
Dr. Wise currently serves on the faculty at Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana, as a professor in the African American and African Diaspora Studies department and as an affiliated faculty member in the Jacobs School of Music. He is the recipient of the James E. Mumford Excellence in Extraordinary Teaching Award. Dr. Wise serves as the executive director of the African American Arts Institute, an IU division devoted to the perpetuation and performance of African American music and art. Dr. Wise is an ordained minister and has served as a church musician for more than 45 years. He has appeared on radio and television, recorded 25 albums, and toured extensively throughout the United States, Canada, Europe, Africa, and Asia.
Dr. Wise began composing at the age of nine and has penned more than 680 compositions. His works are published by Hinshaw, GIA, Hal Leonard, MusicSpoke, Abingdon Press, and the United Methodist Publishing House. His anthology 21 Spirituals for the 21st Century has received national and international acclaim. Wise recently won an Emmy Award for his work as a writer and conductor for the PBS documentary Amen: Music of the Black Church. He is founder and president of Raise Productions’ Center for the Gospel Arts, a gospel music production and publishing company in Columbus, Ohio.
Be sure to check out his independent works on J.W. Pepper through the My Score platform!
Featured Compositions
