Trusting in His Plans (feat. Larry Norton & Ensemble)

Diane L. White, Ph.D.
"Dr. Dee"
Composer ~ Vocalist ~ Pianist ~ Choral Conductor ~ Minister

A native of Washington, DC, Diane was performing by age four and directing choirs by age nine; she was arranging and composing by eleven. In 1986, White graduated with honors from the Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri where she received a Bachelor of Arts degree in music with emphasis in composition, voice, and piano. Following graduation, while still in St. Louis, she was asked to become Assistant Director of African and African-American Studies at Washington University, and directed the university's Black Repertory Gospel Choir, a position she began her junior year. She became Musical Director and Vocal Arranger for the St. Louis Black Repertory Theatre Company, which premiered some of her works in their 1986 season. The following year White was awarded the coveted Rotary Scholarship for a year's study as an Ambassador of Goodwill to France. As a Rotary Scholar, she studied classical piano at the Ecole Normale de Musique in Paris and performed solo Gospel concerts throughout Europe.

Upon returning to the States, White began graduate studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara where she received a Masters and Ph.D. in music composition in June 1998. During her tenure, she instructed courses in musicianship, theory, ethnomusicology, and music history and directed the university's hundred-voice Gospel Choir. She also received awards for outstanding teaching, musical composition, and academic performance graduating with a 3.9 GPA. As she did during undergrad, White founded the Black Christian Fellowship, a campus ministry dedicated to meeting the spiritual needs of African-American students through Bible Studies and social activities. From 1993 to 1995, on a leave-of-absence, White accepted a dual position at the Appalachian State University in Boone, North Carolina as Artist-in-Residence with the School of Music and Assistant Director of African-American Student Development. At Appalachian she instructed the Gospel Choir and directed the Peer Mentor Program among other duties. Other positions include Artist-in-Residence for the Chaplancy at Westmont College, Artist-in-Residence for the First United Methodist Church of Santa Barbara, California and Minister of Music for the Israel Baptist Church in Washington, DC. She has occupied positions as Composer-in-Residence and Scholar-in-Residence at Indiana University of Pennsylvania and Grinnell College in Grinnell, Iowa. Earl Stewart and Helen Walker-Hill feature Dr. White in textbooks on the subjects of African American music and Afro-American Women Composers respectively.

As a composer and performer, she has won acclaim with tremendous stylistic diversity ranging from atonal classical pieces to contemporary gospel. She has had works performed at numerous academic conferences as well as the National Convention for the NAACP, the Gospel Music Workshop of America, and the International Nazarene Youth Conference. She has appeared as Conductor Artistic Director for the Washington Performing Arts Society's Men & Women of the Gospel and Children of the Gospel respectively. These audition-only choirs feature some of the city's foremost performers and appear annually in concerts with prominent gospel artists at the Kennedy Center and the Strathmore Performing Arts Center in Maryland. She was called to the ministry in 1989 expanding her music ministry to preaching and has ministered in numerous venues both sacred and secular demonstrating God's awesome power through her eloquence and compassion.

Affectionately known as "Dr. Dee", she has released two self-produced CDs, "In Stillness" and "Dr. Dee: Live in DC," on the label, BYTHAX Records, Inc., of which she is founder and CEO. Diane is also founder of LCW Publishing under which she publishes her compositions. She travels extensively as a workshop clinician, performer, composer, conductor, and speaker, appearing at colleges, universities, churches, and conferences throughout the United States, Europe and Canada. She has just recently joined the music staff of Faithful Central Bible Church of Los Angeles, CA under the pastorate of Bishop Kenneth C. Ulmer. Diane loves working with children and plans to develop performing arts programs for youths in disadvantaged communities. Her heart's desire is to share the immeasurable riches of Christ's love in every aspect of her ministry.