Gloria Harrison Quinlan, a native of Houston, Texas, received the Bachelor of Music Education degree in Voice from Texas Southern University, the Master of Music in Voice from Colorado State University in Fort Collins, Colorado and the Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Voice from The University of Texas at Austin.  

After serving as Assistant Professor of Music at Knoxville College in Knoxville, Tennessee, she was Associate Professor of Music at the University of the Virgin Islands, St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands, and later served as Chair of the Music Department.  She also served as Chair of the Humanities and Fine Arts Department at Huston-Tillotson University, Austin, Texas, and Professor of Music, Voice/Choral and Director of the Huston-Tillotson University Concert Choir.  She retired from Huston-Tillotson University in the spring of 2023, with the rank of Professor Emerita, having been named Faculty of the Year for the 2022-2023 academic year.

She studied Voice with the late Ruth Stewart (Texas Southern University), the late Larry Day (Colorado State University) and the late Martha Deatherage (University of Texas), and coached with the late Gerard Souzay, the late Darryl Hobson-Byrd and the late David Garvey (all at the University of Texas).  Dr. Quinlan studied choral conducting with the late Ruthabel Rollins at TSU.

Dr. Quinlan has enjoyed success as a performer: in opera, as a soloist with ensembles, and as a recitalist, throughout the United States and the Caribbean.  Significant performances include: Soprano soloist in a performance of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony with the Caribbean Chorale and Puerto Rico Symphony; Soprano soloist with the Austin Civic Chorus and Sinfonietta in a performance of the Brahms Requiem; Soprano Soloist with the Capitol City Men’s Chorus; and Soprano Soloist with the Austin Singers in a performance of the Brahms Requiem.  She recorded with the Trombone Choir of The Butler School of Music, University of Texas at Austin.  

Dr. Quinlan has received acclaim as a choral conductor.  She founded the Concert Choir of the University of the Virgin Islands, St. Thomas, Virgin Islands.  Her choir at Huston-Tillotson University performed for President Jimmy Carter.  President George W. Bush invited the Huston-Tillotson University Choir to perform at the opening of the Texas State Museum (a performance broadcast nationwide).  Dr. Quinlan was also selected as the choir conductor for the Lady Bird Johnson funeral service.  She served as Minister of Music for Ebenezer Baptist Church from 1997 to 2020.  

She served as a Regional Conductor for the 105 Voices of History Historically Black Colleges and Universities National Concert Choir in 2009 and 2010, and made her conducting debut at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in September, 2011, directing the 105 Voices of History.  She also served as the Vocal Coach for the 105 Voices of History.

Her University choir performed the Duke Ellington Sacred Concert with an All Star Jazz Band in 2009 and 2010, in collaboration with the Austin Chamber Music Center.  In 2009, members of her choir also appeared in a production and recording of Duke Ellington’s opera, Queenie Pie, in collaboration with the Opera Department of the Butler School of Music, University of Texas at Austin. 

In 2019 the Huston-Tillotson University Concert Choir joined Chorale Le Chateau, Damien Sneed, conductor, and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, led by Wynton Marsalis, in 3 performances of Marsalis’ Abyssinian Mass.  

In April 2023 Dr. Quinlan organized and performed background vocals with a group of 16 singers in a performance by Jelly Roll at the CMT 2023 awards show, which was televised nationally.  The following week, Dr. Quinlan and selected students from the H-T Choir joined a mass choir at Carnegie Hall in a performance of The Cry of Jeremiah by Rosephanye Powell, conducted by Professor D’Walla Simmons Burke.  In 2024 Dr. Quinlan founded The Quinlan Singers, a professional choir focused on providing performing opportunities for underrepresented singers.  The Choir’s mission is to promote the music of African Americans and perform music of the Western classical repertory.

Dr. Quinlan has also served with distinction as a Minister of Music in several Austin-area churches, including the Alpha Seventh-day Church from 1991- 2004, and the Ebenezer Baptist Church from 1997- 2009, and again from 2012- 2020.  In 2024 Dr. Quinlan founded The Quinlan Singers, a professional choir focused on providing performing opportunities for underrepresented singers. the Choir’s mission is to promote the music of African Americans and perform music of the Western classical repertory.

Her honors include the Danforth Compton Fellowship, Graduate Opportunity Fellowship, and a Graduate Scholarship Award from General Conference, Seventh Day Adventist Church.  She also received the Fine Arts Award as an outstanding Music Educator by the National Sorority of Phi Delta Kappa, Inc., Delta Beta Chapter, and the Outstanding Achievement in Fine Arts award from the National Women of Achievement, Inc.  She is a member of the National Association of Teachers of Singing, Texas Music Educators Association, American Choral Directors Association, Texas Choral Directors Association, Honorary member of Golden Key International Honour Society and NAACP Huston-Tillotson Chapter.  Dr. Quinlan is also a proud member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.  

Dr. Quinlan and husband Quincy Quinlan makes their home in Austin, Texas. They have one son, Mykal Quinlan, M.D., his wife Krystle. Quinlan, D.N.P and one grandson, Kyrie.