Duane Martin Foster
- Actor
Duane Martin Foster is a native of St. Louis MO and an Alumnus of
Morehouse College and Northwestern University. His career spans from
musical theatre and opera to dance and film, having accomplished the
highest level of excellence in each discipline. He received his dance
training and certification from the Alvin Ailey American Dance Center,
performed the role of Sportin' Life in Porgy and Bess at Lincoln Center
with NY City Opera and appeared as Coalhouse Walker , Jr. alongside
Four-Time Tony Award Winner Audra McDonald in the Broadway smash hit
musical, Ragtime, which garnered four Tony Awards. While in NY, Foster
also performed in three wonderful seasons of A Christmas Carol directed
by Susan Stroman, two City Center Encores; House of Flowers and Purlie,
starring opposite of Blair Underwood. He was also a member and soloist
for the acclaimed Broadway Inspirational Voices. He has appeared at
some of the great regional theatres around the country including
Hartford Stage, Alliance Theatre and the Papermill Playhouse. In St.
Louis he has appeared for two summer seasons at the Muny in Camelot and
Showboat. His concert appearances include Robert Ray'the Gospel Mass
(Tenor Soloist) at Carnegie Hall, and 5 seasons as a soloist with the
Saint Louis Symphony's In Unison Choir. Foster's big screen credits
include The New Leave It To Beaver Movie as the choreographer(1996) and
Preaching to the Choir (2006) (He is the man running down the street
while putting on his choir robe and hitting a high D-Flat.) He also
appears on the soundtrack for Preaching to the Choir (track#7) and
Pennies for the Boatman (July 2010). Foster appears on recordings with
Linda Eder, Christy Baron, The Broadway Inspirational Voices and the
Original Cast Recording of Ragtime. Discovering a higher calling and
need to inspire the youth, Duane moved back to his native St. Louis in
2006. He was appointed Theatre/Dance Instructor at Normandy Middle
School. While there, he transformed a ghost town of a theatre program
into a thriving and innovative force for the Normandy School District.
He is the choir director for the Normandy High School in St. Louis.
This is a position previously held by legendary St. Louis choral
conductors Joan Brown and Dwayne Buggs. He is also the founding
Director of the Normandy Performing Arts Academy and the Normandy Dance
Academy (NDA), who hosted Houston Ballet and Alvin Ailey in residence
for the 2010-2011 school year. In June 2011 he traveled to New Haven,
CT to receive the Yale Distinguished Music Educator Award. This award
is given to 50 public school music educators from all over the United
States.