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2012 SESSION

12102251D
SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 60
Offered January 11, 2012
Prefiled January 10, 2012
Celebrating the life of Royzell L. Dillard.
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Patron-- Locke
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WHEREAS, Royzell L. Dillard, a professor at Hampton University, whose musical genius and choral conducting talent enriched many lives both locally and nationally, died on November 17, 2011; and

WHEREAS, Royzell Dillard was born in Nashville, Tennessee, and it was in the city’s public schools and in the African Methodist Episcopal Church that he received his first exposure to music; he later moved to Memphis before making Hampton his home; and

WHEREAS, Royzell Dillard earned a bachelor of arts degree from Hampton Institute in 1983, and in 1988 he received a master of arts degree in music education from Hampton University; while a student there he sang in the choir and rose to become the student conductor; and

WHEREAS, Royzell Dillard, who taught at Hampton University for 25 years, specialized in all forms of choir conducting; he also was interested in church music and performed in several musical theater productions; and

WHEREAS, Royzell Dillard joined the faculty of Hampton University in 1986, and at the time of his death, he was an Assistant Professor of Music, the director of the University Choir, and the Minister of Music at Hampton University’s Memorial Church; and

WHEREAS, with his generosity of spirit, Royzell Dillard touched many lives at Hampton University, where he worked with singers in the University Concert Choir, the University Gospel Choir: His Chosen Sounds, and the Vocal Jazz Ensemble: JZAZZ; and

WHEREAS, Royzell Dillard’s renown spread well beyond the state’s borders; he was national choir director for the 105 Voices of History, a program of the Historically Black Colleges and Universities, and in that capacity trained more than 450 students; and

WHEREAS, Royzell Dillard, who published articles and music and also made presentations at workshops and conferences, was an honored member of the American Choral Directors Association, the Intercollegiate Music Association, and Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity; and

WHEREAS, Royzell Dillard was Co-Music Director of the Hampton University Ministers’ Conference and Choir Directors’ and Organists’ Guild Workshop; he also performed in Porgy and Bess, Handel’s Messiah, Ain’t Misbehavin’, and Five Guys Named Moe; and

WHEREAS, a highlight of Royzell Dillard’s wide-ranging career was performing for former Presidents of the United States, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, and current President Barack Obama; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED by the Senate, the House of Delegates concurring, That the General Assembly hereby note with great sadness the loss of respected educator and gifted musician Royzell L. Dillard; and, be it

RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the Senate prepare a copy of this resolution for presentation to the family of Royzell L. Dillard as an expression of the General Assembly’s respect for his memory.