Professor honored for community contributions

By Cal Sutton

Tyrone Clinton Jr., an adjunct professor for Westminster Choir College and conductor of Rider’s chapel choir, was inducted into Morehouse College’s Martin Luther King Jr. 2026 Collegium of Scholars on April 9.

The Morehouse College 41st MLK Jr. College of Ministers & Laity Program had 225 honorees and inductees across several categories for 2026, such as the Board of Preachers, Collegium of Scholars and Board of Sponsors, as well as individual honors.

Clinton, a Morehouse College alumnus, expressed how the distinguishment felt for him. “Personally, I felt really honored. It was a pivotal thing for me … to be inducted into the Collegium of Scholars,” Clinton said.

The award is granted to individuals selected by previously-inducted members of the Collegium of Scholars or faculty of Morehouse College, which is based on their contributions to scholarship, contributions to the community and their commitments to public service.

Leading to his induction, Clinton expressed that he hoped his contributions to the community through his nonprofit organization, The Unsung Collective, had helped make him stand out.

The Unsung Collective is a music collective based in Harlem, New York, devoted to celebrating Black music and the Black experience for people of all walks of life.

Clinton said that this was the last time Morehouse College will induct new members into the Collegium of Scholars, following the retirement of the school’s dean who pioneered the concept.

Benjamin Glick, a sophomore voice performance major, had Clinton as a conductor when he was in Rider’s chapel choir.

Reflecting on his time in chapel choir, Glick expressed that Clinton cared about his students and wanted them to achieve great things.

“He does a very good job of setting high expectations, while also teaching very well and giving his students the tools to reach the expectations,” Glick said.

These expectations were made easier to reach, due to Clinton’s attentiveness to making sure students are using their voices properly and safely.

“In chapel choir, he gave me a strong foundation for what healthy choral singing is,” Glick said. “Singing in chapel choir was the first time I really understood what healthy choral singing is, because it’s very difficult, but he teaches it very well.”

Clinton’s perspective on life, which is based on who he is, helped inspire his deep commitment to advocacy and social justice. “[As a Black American, it is important to take] personal and professional responsibility to make sure that change is for the next generation that comes after,” Clinton said.

Being Black in America at this time in history is something to be celebrated, and Clinton does just that with his musicianship and community service.

“The work that I have committed to do is work that is outside of myself. It was my dream, six years ago, to start a nonprofit that caters to other folks that is a reflection of other people,” Clinton said.

Glick echoed a similar thought, he noticed Clinton making conscientious efforts to give a voice to composers of diverse backgrounds, unlike the backgrounds typically represented in choral music.

“It’s really awesome what [Clinton] does — setting and picking great music by diverse composers and putting them in concert and setting them on [an] equal playing field to the classics,” Glick said.