Jackson Free Press

Jackson State University's longtime director of choral activities, Willenham Cortez Castilla, died Feb. 28. His funeral took place Friday, March 6, at Christ Temple Church of Christ Holiness (845 N. Lamar St.).

Castilla, who worked at JSU for 20 years, came to the university from Provine High School, where his choirs and ensembles received high ratings in festivals at local, state and national competitions.

He received a bachelor's degree in music education from Millsaps College and a master's degree in music and ethnomusicology (the anthropology of music) from Fisk University in Nashville, Tenn. Castilla also studied at Mississippi State University in Starkville, the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minn., Westminster Choir College in Princeton, N.J., and Kent State University in Kent, Ohio.

Castilla joined the JSU faculty in 1994. Under his leadership, the JSU Chorale was featured in two PBS Specials in Las Vegas, and it performed with the Mississippi Chorus and Mississippi Symphony, singing such works as "Belshazzar's Feast," "Carmina Burana," "God's Trombone," as well as choral works from William Grant Still, the first African American composer to conduct a major orchestra in the United States. The JSU Chorale put on a command performance for the National Transportation Civil Rights Conference, in addition to making three major appearances as the featured choir for the American Guild of Organists' Southeastern Regional Convention.

In 2007, the JSU Chorale toured Milan, Verona, Venice and Rome, Italy, and received the Silver Trophy in the prestigious Days of International Choir Music competition in Verona, in which 32 of the world's best choirs competed for the top awards. In 2010, the choral ensemble performed in a center-stage concert at Carnegie Hall in New York City, and the audience gave a standing ovation.

Castilla received many accolades throughout his musical career, including the 2011 Champions of Leadership Award, an award that the 105 Voices of History HBCU National Concert Choir presented to him, recognizing his service as part of the Regional Conductors Team. In September 2012, Castilla served as a National Conductor of the 105 Voices of History National Choir in a concert performance at the Andrew Mellon Auditorium in Washington, D.C.

Castilla was the brother of Reginald Castilla, who worked with the Upward Bound program at JSU, and Alveno Castilla, a member of the JSU Development Foundation board of directors. Other siblings include JSU alums Dr. Abranese Castilla, M.D., and Vonzell Castilla.

Willenham and his wife, Dr. Kathy Castilla, had four children, William, Isaiah, Kathlyn and Matthew.