DAVE RAGLAND is a two-time EMMY nominated composer, vocalist, pianist, and conductor. Hailed as “über-talented” by The Nashville Scene, Dave received an EMMY nomination for composition and music direction for Frist Art Museum’s “Nick Cave FEAT. Nashville.” Ragland received a second EMMY nomination for "I'm Troubled" - a musical collaboration with Nashville Ballet’s Gerald Watson and violinist Chandler Custer. Dave was also nominated for Best Director of a Musical by First Night Honors for Wildcard Productions’ run of Lady Day at Emerson's Bar & Grill. In the first commission of the company's history, Ragland composed One Vote Won for Nashville Opera. The opera, commemorating the centennial of Women's Suffrage, opened Nashville Opera’s 40th season. Dave, in collaboration with Inversion Vocal Ensemble, shackled feet DANCE, and Diaspora Orchestra, is slated to debut his opera Steal Away as Artist-in-Residence for OZ Arts in 2021. Additional compositional credits including Nashville Symphony, Nashville Ballet, Memphis Symphony Orchestra, and Intersection Contemporary Ensemble, and GRAMMY-nominated ALIAS Chamber Ensemble. Ragland is the Artistic Director of Inversion Vocal Ensemble, a regionally touring vocal collective that has performed with Brandi Carlile, GRAMMY-nominee Ruby Amanfu, Marcus Hummon, Levi Hummon. Previous engagements with Inversion include The National Civil Rights Museum, The National Museum of African-American Music, The Ryman Auditorium, Cheekwood, and Nashville Symphony’s “Let Freedom Sing."He is also a Composer Mentor for 91Classical's inaugural Student Composer Fellowship. Learn more at daveragland.com.

SHABAZ UJIMA is the Founder and Artistic Director of Shackled Feet DANCE. He first studied dance at Nashville School of the Arts and Nashville Ballet (1996-1999). He continued his training at New World School of the Arts in Miami, Fla. and went on to dance in Nashville Ballet’s Second Company before enjoying a successful career in contemporary dance with Cleo Parker Robinson Dance Ensemble (2003-2007) and Dayton Contemporary Dance Company (2008-2014) under his stage name, Hershel Deondre Horner III. Ujima has performed works by choreographers such as Alvin Ailey, Donald McKayle, Milton Myers, Matt Maddox, Susanna Linke, Jose Limon and Christopher Huggins. Upon his professional dance retirement in 2014, Mr. Ujima returned to Nashville Ballet where he is a full-time faculty member in modern and contemporary dance. Outside of his work at Nashville Ballet, he teaches mindfulness and yoga to local youth and in the Davidson County Juvenile Detention Center. He has worked extensively with local schools including Creswell Middle School, Nashville School of the Arts, and McGavock High School.

GARDENING, NOT ARCHITECTURE (G,NA) is the long-running music and visual/performance art project of Sarah Saturday. What started as some cassette tape demos in 2003 has unfolded ever so slowly for nearly two decades, producing several albums and releases, a feature film, film scores, light shows, performances all over the U.S. and Canada, music videos, collaborations, and most recently a solo performance art piece incorporating lights, film, movement, and a series of remixes of past songs. G,NA has composed the score for indie feature film Superpowerless, and has made her most recent studio album Fossils into a full cinematic experience with long-time collaborator Dycee Wildman. Learn more at gardeningnotarchitecture.com.

CAMERON L. MITCHELL is a Memphis native. After studying in Japan, Cameron found a passion to engage the community through transformational poetry. He has self-produced his theatrical production Blackbird around Nashville and also presented it as part of the annual Shades of Black Festival. In 2019, he also hosted a series of collaborative evenings of poetry, writing, and theatre in at 21c Museum Hotel Nashville which showcased the work of more than a dozen local artists. Catch him mentoring poets for SouthernWord or on stage in plays like Ghost at The Nashville Children’s Theater.

JEMS DESTINÉ is a Haiti born, Nashville-based poet. He is a teaching artist, and has taught poetry all over Tennessee from Nashville to as far as Knoxville. He has performed poetry at TedxNashville, and several places from Nashville to Murfreesboro. Some of his work has been featured in Calendars. Jems enjoys teaching poetry to all grade levels and enjoys building his momentum in the world of poetry.