Dr. Heard is a graduate of The Central State University in Wilberforce, Ohio, where he earned a degree in Vocal Performance. He began graduate study in Opera Performance at Louisiana State University and later earned a Master of Education in Educational Leadership from Central Michigan University. In 2023, he graduated from the University of Michigan–Ann Arbor with a Master of Music in Choral Music Education. He has since completed the Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership at Central Michigan University, further strengthening his lifelong work as an advocate for arts access, school leadership, and educational equity. Lauded around the world for the versatility, power, and spiritual intensity of his classical and gospel performances, Dr. Heard has been described as “a thundering tenor” following his performance with the Jeremy Winston Chorale in Hamburg, Germany. His career has taken him across continents, with performances in China, Europe, South America, and throughout the United States. He has appeared with distinguished ensembles and organizations including the Cleveland Symphony Orchestra, Dayton Philharmonic, Bach Society of Dayton, Czech National Symphony Orchestra, Flint Symphony Orchestra, and Sphinx Virtuosi. His performance credits include some of the world’s most celebrated stages and sacred spaces, among them Carnegie Hall, Severance Hall, Lincoln Center, the Kennedy Center, the Dome of Salzburg, Schloss Mirabell, and the Municipal House in Prague.

 

While his professional artistry has carried him around the globe, Dr. Heard’s deepest calling remains rooted in children, community, and access to excellent arts education. He began his work in the Lansing School District as a music teacher and later served as Arts Program Development Specialist, where he helped imagine, design, and expand opportunities for young people to encounter the performing arts with seriousness, joy, and possibility. He continues this work as a vocal instructor for the Detroit Opera Community Vocal Studio, a role that brings him great joy as he helps young singers grow in technique, artistry, confidence, and purpose. As a clinician, master teacher, and vocal pedagogue, he has led masterclasses and workshops across the world, working with students of diverse backgrounds and helping emerging artists discover the fullness of their gifts. In 2019, Dr. Heard transitioned from the public school system into the private and nonprofit arts sector and founded Transcendence Vocal Arts Institute, which has grown into Transcendence Performing Arts Centers, Inc., a dynamic and expanding network of schools and studios based in Lansing, Michigan, with a growing national footprint. Through Transcendence, Dr. Heard has cultivated a community-centered model of performing arts education that blends rigorous training, cultural responsiveness, leadership development, and global possibility. His students have performed in major concert halls and venues around the world, including Carnegie Hall, the American Church in Paris, the Municipal House in Prague, Detroit Opera, and major opera houses abroad.

 

Dr. Heard is a proud member of Exigence Vocal Ensemble, founded by Dr. Eugene Rogers, and the Jeremy Winston Chorale International. His professional affiliations include the American Choral Directors Association, the National Association of Teachers of Singing, the National Association of Negro Musicians, the Arts Council of Greater Lansing, and the Earl Nelson Singers Company of Lansing, Michigan. Across every dimension of his work, as performer, educator, scholar, founder, and community leader, Dr. Heard remains committed to one central conviction: the performing arts can open doors, restore dignity, build discipline, and give young people access to futures they may not yet have imagined. His life’s work continues to center artistic excellence not as a luxury, but as a birthright for children and communities everywhere.

 

As we welcome October, the DEI Committee remains committed to fostering a culture of diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging within our organization. This month, we encourage everyone to continue exploring perspectives different from their own, engaging in meaningful dialogue, and seeking opportunities to create a more welcoming and equitable environment for all.

 

To further support our mission, the DEI Committee will be inviting diverse speakers throughout the month of October this year to share their expertise, and unique perspectives from their organizations. These conversations will help broaden our understanding, challenge assumptions, and inspire us to build stronger connections across our community. By listening to and learning from a variety of voices this month, we strengthen our collective ability to create an environment where everyone feels valued, respected, and empowered.

 

DEI Thought for the Month:

 

Thank you for your continued commitment to making our organization a place where diversity is celebrated, equity is pursued, and inclusion is practiced every day. Together, we can create meaningful changes through learning, understanding, and action. Friendly reminder there will be a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Meeting immediately following Rotary on Friday, October 9th, 2026.

                                                                                                                                                                                                         DowntownLansing Inc is having its annual Big Red Ball on Saturday, November 21, and they are looking for volunteers to help with the event.  DLI’s mission is to “strengthen and nurture the culture, health, and sustainability of our downtown district.”   Shifts on November 21 include event setup 2:30-5:30 pm, various shifts during the event from 5:30-10:00 pm, and event tear down and cleanup from 9:30-11:30 pm.  More information can be found here: https://signup.com/go/GpgGkpd. 

President Susan called the meeting to order at precisely 12:30 p.m. Because if there is one thing Susan is going to do, it is start Rotary on time.

 

We made our way through the Four-Way Test and then it was time for Bill Frysinger to give the reflection. Except there was one small problem.

 

Where was Bill?

 

MIA.

 

So, in a rare breach of Rotary procedure, we skipped right over him and moved on to our patriotic song, “My Country, ’Tis of Thee.”

 

We then welcomed our guests:

And somewhere along the way, Bill Frysinger did in fact make it to Rotary. Crisis averted.

 

Bill finally came to the front of the room for his reflection and started with three questions: Where do we come from? Who are our people? What are we? Bill talked about his own roots. He is from Ohio, has Dutch ancestry, and comes from generations of masons. His family moved across states, their faith evolved over time, and all of those people and experiences helped shape who he is today. He tied that into the Native American concept of thinking about seven generations — the generations who came before us and those who will come after us.

 

Bill reminded us that we are really just temporary custodians of the places we occupy. We should not take someone else’s culture and claim it as our own, but we absolutely can learn from it. His point was also a good reminder that getting outside of our own little corner of the world tends to make us better humans. Other people have their own experiences, beliefs and “self-evident truths.” Sometimes we all just need to give one another a little wiggle room. Or, as Bill put it in one of my favorite lines of the day: fear is for people who don’t get out very much.

 

From there, we moved on to the very serious Rotary business of Plaidurday. Several Rotarians participated and wore plaid. Terry Terry then came forward with some genuinely big news: Lansing is officially the Jam Capital of the World! Lansing successfully completed the Guinness World Record for the world’s longest continuous jam session. So if anyone asks what Lansing is known for, you may now add “record-breaking quantities of jamming” to the list.

 

A group of Rotarians also volunteered at the Greater Lansing Food Bank on Tuesday, September 22. You can see photographic evidence of their good deeds elsewhere in the Rotogram.

 

Downtown Lansing Inc. is looking for volunteers for its Big Red Ball on Saturday, November 21. They need help with setup from 2:30–5:30 p.m., several shifts during the event between 5:30 and 10:00 p.m., and teardown and cleanup from 9:30–11:30 p.m.

 

Bill Frysinger then introduced our speaker for the day, John Ostrander, Executive Director of the Nokomis Cultural Heritage Center. Bill serves on our DEI Committee, which is selecting this month’s speakers, and said they thought a good place to begin was by learning about the culture and history of the people who were here long before the rest of us.

 

John began by talking about the work of the Nokomis Cultural Heritage Center and one of the biggest misconceptions they are trying to correct: Native Americans are not simply a chapter in an American history textbook. They are here. Their cultures are here. Their governments are here. Their languages and traditions are here.

 

John explained that Anishinaabe translates roughly to “original people” and refers to Indigenous peoples with deep roots in our region.

 

Several years ago, a student asked him a question that stuck with him: “Are there any Indians left?”

 

That question sent John looking through the student’s textbooks. He discovered only a couple of pages about Native Americans, and even the photos being used were of Plains tribes rather than the Woodland peoples who actually lived - and still live - here in Michigan. That helped shape a major part of the Nokomis Center’s mission. Instead of only having students come to them for field trips, the Center increasingly goes directly into classrooms. Last year, they reached approximately 140 classrooms, and they are beginning even more work in local schools this month.

 

The Center also has an extensive partnership with Michigan State University, working with more than 15 departments to bring Native voices and perspectives into classrooms and university programs. Some of their most interesting work is happening outside of the classroom. MSU has dedicated approximately three-quarters of an acre for a garden where the Center can grow traditional Native plants and crops. Part of that work involves preserving seed varieties, including corn that has been grown by Native communities for generations.

 

They are also working with MSU Radiology on a traditional medicine garden. John has connected the university with people who have knowledge of traditional medicinal plants, and they hope to expand that garden this coming spring. All of this ties back to something John emphasized throughout his presentation: we tend to teach Native American history as though it stopped a very long time ago.

 

It didn’t. Native communities are still here, and their cultures survived despite generations of government policies intended to suppress their languages, religious practices and traditions. It was only in 1978 that the federal government formally protected Native Americans’ right to practice their traditional religions through the American Indian Religious Freedom Act.

 

Today, Michigan is home to more than 240,000 Native American or Alaska Native residents and 12 federally recognized Tribal Nations. Those Tribal Nations are sovereign governments with their own histories, cultures and relationships with the State of Michigan and the United States. Much of what we now know as Michigan was ceded through treaties between Tribal Nations and the United States during the late 1700s and 1800s.

 

John also talked about some of the darker parts of that history, including the long-term impact of policies designed to separate Native people from their languages and cultures. Native people continue to contribute to Michigan through government, education, art, science, agriculture, culture and countless other areas. The Nokomis Center is working to make sure that when students learn about Native Americans, they understand that they are learning about living cultures and communities - not simply people who existed hundreds of years ago.

 

John also touched on Indigenous peoples in Canada, including Métis and Inuit communities, as another reminder that there is no single Native American or Indigenous culture. There are many different nations, histories, languages and traditions. If there was one takeaway from John’s presentation, it was probably this: Native American history is not over.

 

And if our only exposure to it came from a couple pages in a fourth-grade history book, we probably have some catching up to do.

 

Next week, our speaker will be Dr. Lavonte Heard, founder of Transcendence Performing Arts Center, Inc., a network of schools and studios based right here in Lansing.

 

Email for Ben Rathbun:  Ben@rathbunagency.com