09/09/2026
We are honored to celebrate Mary D. Watkins, a composer, pianist, arranger and musical visionary whose extraordinary career has moved across jazz, classical music, opera, film, theater and dance.
Classically trained in composition at Howard University, Watkins has never allowed her music to be confined to a single tradition. Her work carries the influence of jazz, blues, gospel and the broader African Diaspora, bringing artistic excellence into conversation with spirituality, history and social consciousness.
Across a career spanning more than five decades, she has written for symphony orchestras, chamber and jazz ensembles, choral groups, theatrical productions and film. She was also a groundbreaking recording artist with Olivia Records during the 1970s and received support from the National Endowment for the Arts for both jazz performance and composition.
Her operatic works demonstrate the depth of her commitment to using music as a vessel for historical memory and social truth. They include Queen Clara, inspired by the life of American Red Cross founder Clara Barton; Emmett Till: The Opera; and Is This America? The Fannie Lou Hamer Story, which centers the life, courage and enduring legacy of civil rights leader Fannie Lou Hamer.
Mary D. Watkins creates music that remembers, questions, heals and moves us forward. Her life’s work reminds us that musical excellence and cultural truth belong together, and that composition can be a powerful way of preserving histories that must never be forgotten.
On October 24, Oakland Public Conservatory of Music will proudly present Mary D. Watkins with a Lifetime Achievement Award as we celebrate twenty years of music, culture, access and community.
Join us as we honor a remarkable artist whose life and work continue to carry our history forward.
Tickets: https://givebutter.com/opc20th
