John V. Brown, Jr., a professor of the practice of music, became vice provost for the arts in 2020.
As vice provost for the arts, Brown works closely with all Duke arts departments and entities to expand and coordinate arts programming on campus. He also oversees the Visiting Artist in Residence program and organizes the annual Duke Arts Festival. Brown works with the Nasher Museum of Art, the American Dance Festival, the Center for Documentary Studies, the Full Frame Documentary Film Festival, Duke Gardens and the Duke Chapel to build strong arts collaborations between Duke and the community.
He has taught at Duke University since 2001, and serves the Director of the Jazz Program. He has also been a faculty member at UNC-Chapel Hill, North Carolina Central University, North Carolina State University and Guilford College. In addition to teaching and performing, he serves on the Board of Directors for the Duke Cancer Patient Support Program, has served multiple times on the Pulitzer Prize Music Jury and is a member of the Screen Actor’s Guild. Brown is a graduate of the School of Music at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and the School of Law at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Brown has performed for President & Mrs. Barack Obama, and at major venues and festivals in the United States and abroad with artists like Wynton, Ellis and Delfeayo Marsalis, Elvin Jones, Diahann Carroll, Rosemary Clooney, Cedar Walton, and Nicholas Payton. He boasts a Grammy® Nomination for his performance and co-writing on Nnenna Freelon’s 1995 Concord release, “Shaking Free.” Equally gifted in classical music, John has performed as a substitute with the North Carolina Symphony since 1992, and performs with the Opera Company of North Carolina and the Carolina Ballet. John is a Yamaha Artist and has extensive performance experience including feature films, television, movies, theater, and recordings.