OUR HISTORY & FOUNDER

About the Founder
Donald O’Conner

A native of Memphis TN, Donald O’Conner‘s musical talents surfaced at age 5 as a soloist in his church choir and school programs. At the age of 12 he began private vocal training with a focus on Classical, Popular and Jazz music. His rigorous study of various vocal techniques and stage performance afforded him numerous concert opportunities which featured European Classical, Hymns, Negro Spirituals, Jazz/Broadway and Pop musical styles.  As a member of  a group of local teenage youth called the Schola Cantorum (Latin for Scholarly Singers), O’Conner traveled around the country and made several appearances on national television.  By the age of 16, O’Conner had established himself as a professional vocalist, with several professional recording contract offers. However, O’Conner chose to accept a full scholarship and enrollment into a unique Bachelor of Arts degree in Music program for gifted urban youth at the Langston University School of Music in Langston, OK. Founded by Rev. Jesse Jackson and Operation PUSH, the program gave O’Conner the opportunity to attend workshops conducted by Quincy Jones, Donny Hathaway, Roberta Flack and Herbie Hancock. This experience inspired him artistically and would also influence his interest in the positive impact of the arts on society, the world and humanity as a whole.
 
Professional Experience
After graduating with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Music Education and a minor in Composition, O’Conner went on to have a successful career as a musician, composer, producer, vocalist and recording artist, working and touring both nationally and internationally with leading artists in the entertainment industry. The list includes Marvin Gaye, the O’Jay’s, Kool and the Gang, Chaka Khan and Earth, Wind and Fire. This gave O’Conner the opportunity to travel extensively while studying the performing arts expression of different peoples and cultures. He would later study Dance and Theater as part of his artistic development and earned lead roles in Black classical plays like Aint Misbehavin’, The Wiz, Porgy and Bess and Purlie. After a successful career as an artist, O’Conner pursued his true passion which was: using his wealth of knowledge, experience and creativity in efforts that would have a positive impact on the lives of children and youth, particularly the underserved. Presently his WatotoAcademy of the Performing Arts and its Life Performance Method curriculum provides performing arts education for hundreds of youth in the Charleston, South Carolina community in partnership with Meeting Street Schools. With the endorsement of Civil Rights icon Ruby Bridges, O’Conner has created and directed the “Love America Concert Series” which brings American history to life through stage performance.
 
Professional Development and Education
  • Bachelor of Arts in Music Education with a Major in Vocal Music with a Minor in Theory & Composition
  • Certified Orff Music instructor   
  • Taught 10 years as music instructor for Memphis City Schools K – 12
  • Certificate of Completion in Fund Raising Management from University of Indiana School of Philanthropy
  • Founder/CEO of the Memphis Cultural Arts Enrichment Center, MCAEC (501c3) which, after endorsement from Hollywood TV and movie mogul Debbie Allen, received grant funding support for his performing arts programs for underserved youth throughout the mid-southern region of the United States
  • Founder /Director of the WatotoAcademy of the Performing Arts
  • As a private contractor, developed performing arts programing for more than 1100 underserved youth K-8th grade with the Achievement School District (ASD) and Shelby County School District in Memphis, TN
  • Certificate of Completion from Ruby Payne’s Understanding the Framework of Poverty workshop
  • Winner of the General Mills Feeding Dreams Award for Community Service

The Director Speaks: Donald O’Conner

History of the Watoto Academy of the Performing Arts

In 1987, Memphian Donald O’Conner, musician, songwriter, producer was enjoying a successful careerin the entertainment industry and collaborating with some of the world’s top recording artist and performers. However, during a visit back to his hometown of Memphis TN he was devastated by the level of violence, arrest rate, teen pregnancy rate, low academic performance and self-destructive social behavior among the children and youth in his community and other African American communities in the Memphis area. The fate of his community prompted O’Conner to take immediate action by putting his musical career on hold and putting his training as a certified music/performing arts instructor to work.
He believed that local urban youth needed a program that addressed and reversed deeply rooted negative patterns of thinking, low self- image and improved social behavior.
The goal: to provide education, exposure and experience that would,
1) develop an attitude of achievement, a passion for learning,
2) develop a knowledge and respect for their cultural values, heritage and history,
3) develop a determination to “give their all and do their best”, in all endeavors.
The solution: a research-based curriculum that combined, American and African-American history and culture, the humanities, performing arts and stage performance.
In a local park, on a hot summer day in June, O’Conner gathered a group of youth interested in performing arts. They would meet each day for 4 hours (during the coolest time of the day) under the shade of a set of tall park trees which called his “Shade Tree Performing Arts Academy”.In the early days, low income parents, extended family members, churches and community based businesses (like barber shops, beauty salons, night club owners, community markets and restaurants) provided facilities for instruction and financial support.These grassroots effects would serve as the foundation for the WatotoAcademy of the Performing Arts and its present success in positively impacting the lives of children and youth through the performing arts.
After an invitation to develop a program in Charleston SC, O’Conner became fascinated by the culture, history, love, appreciation and support he and his staff received from the Charleston community. In 2015, O’Conner accepted an offer that would make Charleston, South Carolina the new home of the WatotoAcademy of the Performing Arts. Housed in the Meeting Street Academy at 642 Meeting Street the WatotoAcademy staff daily impacts the lives of hundreds of children and youth grades K – 6th, with their unique approach to performing arts education.