Rev. Raymond Wise, Ph. D., a native of Baltimore, Md., is the son of C. Dexter Wise Jr. and Rev. Julia Virginia Wise.  He began his musical career at the age of three, singing gospel music with his family singing group "The Wise Singers."  Rev. Wise was educated through the Baltimore City Public School System and graduated second out of class of 500 from the Paul Laurence Dunbar Community High School in 1979.
 
He then went on to Denison University (Granville, Ohio) where he reorganized the Black Student Union Choir, started the Black Student Union Ensemble and Dance company and earned a B.F.A. in Music.  From there he went on to study Opera, Art, and German at the Institute for European Studies in Vienna, Austria, then on to study African-American History, Music, and Dance at San Francisco State University in San Francisco, California. He completed an apprenticeship in the business and recording of Gospel Music with the Walter Hawkins Corporation in Oakland, California. Rev. Wise was awarded a Graduate Fellowship from The Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio where earned his Masters in Music Education and Ohio Teacher's Certification.  In addition he also completed a Doctorate in Music Education at The Ohio State University for which his dissertation topic was "Defining African American Gospel Music by Tracing its Historical and Musical Development from 1900 to 2000."

As a composer Wise has penned more than 600 compositions that have been performed and recorded by local, national, and international recording artists.  Dr. Wise’s compositions have been published in hymnals such as “Zion Still Sings” and the soon to be released “Lead Me Guide Me” Catholic Hymnal.  Some of his notable works include “Afro-American Suite” written for Bass-Baritone and Chorus.  Wise co-wrote the script for “God What Color Is Trouble” with director Ron Pitts and has written the music for more than 20 original musical theater productions, including Dwight Collin’s “Dark Symphony,” the Samuel S. Davis production of “The Snow Queen,” and the Amera-flora production of “Listen With Your Heart.”  Wise composed the musical score for the children’s opera “Barefoot.”  Barefoot, originally composed to be performed by Opera Columbus’ educational outreach program has also been performed by The Children's Theater Company of Winston-Salem and Winston-Salem State University in which Dr. Maya Angelou performed the role of narrator.

In 2003, Dr. Wise released the Raymond Wise Choral Sheet Music Series, through more than 200 of his Gospel, Spiritual, and Choral arrangements are available.  In 2004 Wise released an anthology of Spirituals entitled 21 Spirituals for the 21st Century that features 21 of his concert spiritual arrangements.  This collection has been praised and performed by choirs all across the nation.  Since releasing the 21 Spiritual's collection Dr. Wise has received commissions and invitations to compose original works for the Penn State University Spiritual's Festival, The American Spiritual's Ensemble, The AME Congress 145th Anniversary Celebration, the International Spiritual's Festival held in honor of Moses Hogan in Prague, Czech Republic in the summer of 2008, and others.

Dr. Wise developed and implemented courses in African-American Gospel Music, Spirituals, Worship, and Gospel choirs at Denison University (Granville, Ohio), The Ohio State University (Columbus, Ohio), Trinity Lutheran Seminary (Columbus, Ohio), Ashland Theological Seminary (Bethlehem House of Bread Program, Akron, Ohio) and Columbus School for Girls.  He served as the Co-Director of the Hampton University Minister's Conference Choir and Organist Guild Academy that provides intensive training in African American sacred music for college students preparing for service as church music ministers.  He also served as the Co-Director of the Hampton University Minister's Conference Choir and Organist Guild. His knowledge of both the gospel and classical music genre has enabled him to serve as a consultant and clinician in academic and gospel music settings across the nation and abroad.  This has enabled him to bridge the musical gap between the gospel and classical worlds. Wise is also member of the national faculty of the Gospel Music Workshop of America (GMWA) and the American Choral Director's Association (ACDA), Ohio Choral Director's Association (OCDA), Music Educator's National Conference (MENC), and Ohio Music Educator's Association (OMEA). 

Dr. Wise is presently collaborating with various universities and seminaries across the country to establish an accredited Lay Certificate and Master’s Program in African American Gospel and Sacred music.  The program once established will allow practicing gospel musicians as well traditional music majors to received academic training and credentials in gospel music enabling them to serve more effectively within African American Church settings.  Dr. Wise recently accepted an appointment to serve on the faculty of Indiana University.  He will work at the African American Arts Institute, a division devoted to the perpetuation and performance of African American music and art.  Dr. Wise will serve as the Director of the African American Choral Ensemble and instruct courses in African American music.