Comments:
Lemuel Sheppard has toured nationally for over twenty years, including a performance at The Kennedy Center in 2000. He has also performed in Brazil and South Africa.
While at Pittsburg State University, Lemuel appeared in a CBS special segment with Dr. Eva Jessye, most noted as the choral director for the folk opera "Porgy and Bess" by George Gershwin. Dr. Jessey was artist in residence at PSU for four years.
Known primarily for his vocal ability and performances of blues, Lemuel Sheppard is highly acclaimed for his scholarship in American and African American folk music. He holds a master's degree in Music Theory and Composition. Lemuel has presented lectures on African American Music at; Washington University at St Louis, Missouri, University of Arkansas at Jonesboro, and Kansas State University at Manhattan Kansas. Lemuel has toured or performed under the funding auspices of the following organizations; Kansas Arts Commission, Arts Midwest, Mid America Arts Alliance, State Arts council of Oklahoma, UNESCO, US Embassy, Arts America, Heartland Arts Fund and the Kennedy Center.
The US Embassy referred to Lemuel as “The perfect touring artist, Talented, flexible, knowledgeable of his own culture and interested in others." The Eisteddfod International Music Festival in South Africa referred to Lemuel as “An example in inter-cultural and international relations." Recently Lemuel was inducted in the Oklahoma blues hall of fame, and received the Kansas Folklore Society's Joan O'Bryant Award. He composed and performed the sound track to the PBS documentary "Black, White & Brown" on the 50th anniversary of the Brown vs. The Topeka Board of Education.
Lemuel recently served a term on the Kansas Arts Commission.
