Tyler Diaz ‘25, a Music and German major at Hunter College, is headed to Yale University later this year to work towards a joint PhD in Music and African American Studies. Born and raised in Queens, New York, Tyler is an electric guitar player and educator determined to illuminate early Black musicians of the nineteenth-century. As a 2023–2024 Mellon Public Humanities and Social Justice Scholar, Tyler sought to critically engage the biography, compositions, and achievements of Francis Johnson––a mission that has extended beyond the timespan of the scholarship and across Tyler’s own personal practice through lecture-recitals.
Tyler has adapted a selection of Johnson’s works for electric guitar, having played them for audiences at Philadelphia’s Museum of the American Revolution, National Constitution Center, and L’Alliance New York’s Florence Gould Theater. Previously, he received the Eileen Southern Travel Grant and the Agnes M. Duffy Award for Music.
Congratulations, Tyler!
