'Requiem for Colour' Earns Five MidSouth Emmy Nominations

Two Belmont University professors recognized as Dr. Jeffery Ames’ masterwork earns entertainment, composition and technical achievement honors

"Requiem for Colour: A Journey through Lament and Joy," composed and conducted by Belmont University professor Dr. Jeffery L. Ames, has been nominated for five MidSouth Emmy Awards, the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences announced. The wholly original orchestral and choral work earned nominations in entertainment, composition and technical achievement categories.  

Nominations include: 

• Entertainment — Dr. Jeffery Ames, Dr. Doyuen Ko and Nic Dugger 

• Musical Composition/Arrangement — Dr. Jeffery Ames 

• Audio Recording, Mixing and Design — Dr. Doyuen Ko and Brian Losch 

• Director, Long Form Content — Nic Dugger 

• Editor, Long Form Content — Nic Dugger 

“Since 2022, the process of composing, editing and finalizing the musical content for performance and publication, and receiving five MidSouth Emmy nominations has definitely been a 'journey through lament and joy'. I truly believe God has greater plans for this work to have a prismatic effect around the world, which all stems from Belmont,” said Ames, director of choral activities and professor in Belmont University's School of Music. 

The televised performance aired on Nashville PBS in June 2025 following a live performance at Belmont's Fisher Center for the Performing Arts in February. The groundbreaking work combines music, literature and visual art, blending genres from classical to R&B, oration to spoken word, exploring and honoring the experiences of generations of Black people and their descendants. 

"Requiem for Colour" is Ames' labor of love more than a decade in the making. As he explained ahead of the February performance, "What you will witness is a musical, literary and visual journey that begins in West Africa and ends in present-day America. This requiem provides an ecstatic experience celebrating West African culture before traveling the perilous journey across the Atlantic, recounting slavery in the South, the Great Migration, revisiting civil rights of the 60s and reckoning with our current societal vices of racism and injustice." 

The production featured a powerhouse orchestra of Belmont students and professional musicians, a chorus of nearly 200 singers from Belmont University and Tennessee State University, soprano and tenor soloists, dancers and dynamic orators. 

Dr. Doyuen Ko and 10 of his audio engineering technology students from the Remote Recording class handled the audio recording for the project. "It was more than just a single concert to record," said Ko, professor of audio engineering technology within Belmont's Curb College of Entertainment & Music Business. "I am grateful that my students and I were able to deliver a professional-quality audio recording for broadcast and for the future album release of this project. It truly demonstrates what we can achieve through interdisciplinary collaboration on the Belmont campus." 

Ames also conducted "Requiem for Colour" in London this summer with Vox Anima, expanding the work's international reach. 

The production was supported by the Creative Arts Collective for Christian Life and Faith at Belmont, a major initiative funded by a $32 million grant from Lilly Endowment Inc. "Requiem for Colour" was one of the first grantees by the Creative Arts Collective in 2024. 

Winners of the MidSouth Emmy Awards will be announced at a ceremony in February 2026 at Belmont's Fisher Center for the Performing Arts. 

Watch the full performance on Nashville PBS.