Jeannine Otis, also known as "Jahneen," is an American singer, educator and music director.[1]
At the age of 16, she was accepted early to Wellesley College and was the first African-American to a Presser Music Scholar. She earned a BA in Sociology and Musicology. She went on to earn an MA in Theater Education and Performance at Emerson College, where she won a teaching fellowship.[2]
She has performed with Kool and the Gang, the Shirelles, Grover Washington Jr., Eliot Goldenthal, Pete Seeger and many leading hip-hop artists. She has worked in theater with Galt MacDermot, Liz Swados and Robert Lupone.
She wrote a book published by Seabury Press, titled The Gathering, based on her work with imprisoned teenagers. The Gathering has been turned into a theatrical performance. She worked with the New York City Department of Education as an Arts in Education evaluator.
She has toured extensively in productions of Porgy and Bess.
She received a Lifetime Achievement Award from The City Council of New York,[3] the St. Mark's Griffin Outreach Award, the William A. Morris Award from the NAACP, and a Reggie for her Staten Island appearance in The Cradle Will Rock (which she also performed in Manhattan),[4] and she is listed in "Who's Who in America."
She has performed at the Staten Island Jazz Festival for many years,[5] [6] [7] [8] at the Empowering Voices Dinner Gala hosted by Illuminart Productions in 2018.[9]
Currently, she is a Warner European recording artist,[10] has been music director for St. Marks Church-in-the-Bowery for 25 years, an outreach/education coordinator for the Staten Island Museum, and president and consultant for Light of Mine Productions.
She collaborated with Heikki Sarmanto on Magic Song.[11]
Jeannine lives on Staten Island in New York City with her long-time partner, Larry Marshall.