Below is a sample of the articles, interviews or documentaries in which I have participated or been profiled:
- The Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s June 2016 documentary, Spirituals: the Foundation of Popular Music, including excerpts of an interview with me about the history of Negro Spirituals and my experiences performing and researching this music.
- The Oksaloosa (IA) Herald published the January 23, 2015, article, “Penn Students Learn That Struggle Leads to Success,” discussing the Dean’s Convocation’s at William Penn University and my role as its guest speaker. I was interviewed following the convocation by the university’s Communication Research Institute.
- I talked about and sang Spirituals as part of a discussion of gender and slavery for the University of Iowa’s Worldcanvass. The program was broadcast online on Friday, October 8, 2010, at www.prx.org/pieces/44348-worldcanvass-taping-the-world.
- I was interviewed live on Iowa Public Radio’s The Exchange–hosted by Ben Kieffer–on Monday, April 28, 2008, presenting recordings of Spirituals performed during recent recitals given on the Grinnell College campus, and discussing the unique nature of performing Spirituals set for concert performance. Listen to interview.
- In its June 12, 2006, edition, the Grinnell Herald-Register published an article about a presentation on “Secret Signals in the Negro Spiritual” given by Ms. Jones on Sunday, June 18, at the Grinnell Historical Museum, Grinnell, Iowa. The presentation focused on how songs such as “Go Down Moses” and “Steal Away” were used to communicate among slaves, especially those who travelled the Underground Railroad.
- The April 9, 2004, edition of The Carolina Peacemaker covered one of my recent lecture-recitals on “The Gospel Truth about the Negro Spiritual,” held in Greensboro, North Carolina. In the article, “Jones Tells the Gospel Truth,” writer Ayodele Murphy remarks that, “Add the skills of a vocalist, a passion for performing and a love of research and you will have a few of the ingredients that make up Randye Jones.” View the article.
- I was profiled in the November 22, 2003, edition of Billboard. Writer Jim Bessman described Come Down Angels as, “the first fruits of her ongoing research of the history of ‘art song settings’ of Negro spirituals” in the article entitled, “Soprano Gives New Life to Spirituals.” You can access the article through Billboard‘s Web site at www.billboard.com.
- I was interviewed for an article in the October 2, 2003, edition of The Gazette. The article, written by the paper’s religion editor, Linda Phelps, describes some of the challenges involved in the production of Come Down Angels. Ms. Phelps also wrote an article entitled, “Researcher Finds Answers to Negro Spiritualism Questions,” for the June 6, 2002, edition.
- The e-journal, MusicDish, published an article entitled, “The Art of the Negro Spiritual: From Cotton Fields to Concert Hall: An Interview With Soprano/Researcher Randye Jones,” on February 4, 2003. The article was based on an interview with MusicDish assistant editor Anne Freeman. To read this interview, visit MusicDish.
