President Emeritus

Tenor, scholar, cultural activist, and pedagogue Dr. Elektra Voyante (they/them/their) [formerly known as Dr. Marquese Carter] has distinguished themself as a force for change in the world of classical music. Dr. Voyante’s research on the art songs of Florence Price has been featured in numerous forums including the Society for American Music conference and the New York Times. Archival research for their dissertation The Poet and Her Songs: Analyzing the Art Songs of Florence B. Price was generously funded by the American Musicological Society Thomas Hampson Fund grant for song research. Voyante served as president of the International Florence Price Festival, where they curated and administered the first Virtual Florence Price Festival in 2020. An active singer, Elektra has performed works ranging from Bach cantatas to new music premieres throughout the U.S. They most recently appeared in a virtual concert with the Bloomington Symphony Orchestra (Indiana) in lecture recital on Price’s art songs. They portrayed the singer Sam Lucas in a documentary hosted by Sandra Graham and American Music TV. Voyante served as a Stern Fellow at Songfest, and sang with Kentucky Opera’s Educational Outreach Company in 2018. As a choral artist, they sang with Westminster Symphonic Choir at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, and the Kimmel Center, as well as with Apollo’s Voice (Bloomington, IN) professional chorus for two seasons. 

Elektra is  looking forward to the publication of their chapter in The Cambridge Companion to Florence B. Price (coming in 2024)!

Dr. Voyante holds the following degrees:

• Bachelor of Arts in Music, University of Louisville (2012)

• Master of Music in Voice Pedagogy and Performance, Westminster Choir College (2014)

• Doctor of Music in Voice and Music Literature, Indiana University (2018)

More by Marquese

From the PriceFest Blog