Maurice Draughn is a native of Detroit. He began his harp studies at Cass Technical High School with Patricia Terry-Ross, principal harpist of the Michigan Opera Theatre. He continued his studies with Mrs. Ross, earning a Bachelor of Music with a concentration in Harp Performance from Wayne State University. Mr. Draughn completed two summers of study with world-renowned harpist Lucile Lawrence at the Boston University Tanglewood Institute in Lenox, Massachusetts. He earned a Master of Church Music with a concentration in Harp and Organ Performance from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, KY where he also studied harp with Elaine Cook and Laura Byrne at the University of Louisville.
Mr. Draughn has appeared as soloist with the Birmingham-Bloomfield Symphony, Orchestra Canton, Detroit Symphony Civic and Southern Seminary Orchestras. He has performed with noted performers such as Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles, Robert Sims, the Three Irish Tenors, and Glen Campbell. Mr. Draughn is also an arranger and composer of music for the harp, voice and choir. He is currently a freelance harpist performing with the Plymouth, Windsor, Warren, International Symphony Orchestras and Orchestra Canton as well as the Brass Band of Battle Creek. He performs regularly in solo and chamber recitals. He can also be heard on several educational and commercial recordings as a studio harpist. In addition to being a harpist, Mr. Draughn serves as organist at First Presbyterian Church of Farmington. As a conductor, he serves on the adjunct faculty at Wayne State University as director of the WSU Men s Glee Club. He is also the Music Director and Conductor of the Cantata Academy Chorale of Detroit.
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