Joyce Garrett

Joyce Garrett, a native of Kinston, North Carolina, is one of the most recognized choral conductors in the Washington, DC region. A consummate musician and exemplary music educator, Garrett served as Founder/Artistic Director of the Excellence Without Excuses program, a youth intervention, values-training and scholarship program she created for the internationally award-winning Eastern High School Choir of Washington, DC during her tenure there of over 30 years. Garrett directed the United States Naval Academy Gospel Choir in Annapolis, Maryland, for 16 years. Her choirs have participated in numerous national television specials including the annual Kennedy Center Honors and Christmas in Washington programs. She has received numerous honors and awards, including the President’s Medal of The George Washington University; The Catholic University Alumni Achievement Award in Music; Reader’s Digest American Heroes in Education Award; and the Washingtonian Magazine’s Washingtonian of the Year Award. Garrett received a bachelor of arts from Bennett College, a master of music from The Catholic University, and two honorary doctorates from West Virginia Wesleyan College and Bennett College. Currently, she serves as the Music and Worship Arts Ministry Director of the Alfred Street Baptist Church in Alexandria, VA. She is married to James and is the mother of two adult children.