Willie T. Summerville (August 17, 1944- March 7, 2017)
Born in Arkansas, Willie T. Summerville moved to Champaign, IL to attend graduate school at the University of Illinois in the mid-1960s, where he earned an M.S. in music education. He was an award-winning music educator and church musician, serving as a choral director at Urbana Middle School and High School. He served as the Director/Organist at St. Luke C.M.E. Church, Champaign and the Minister of Music at Canaan Baptist Church in Urbana. In addition, he taught classes for the University of Illinois through the Department of African American Studies and was a nationally known clinician. Under his direction, the Urbana High School Concert Choir performed at Carnegie Hall and St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome.
Department of African Studies, In Memoriam
Willie T. Summerville and Summerville Family Papers, 1930-2019, The Sousa Archives and Center for American Music
Local Legend Dies at 72, News-Gazette
Willie T. Summerville, Your Legacy Too, Museum of the Grand Prairie