Freelon is a born and bred Tar Heel from Durham, NC. A graduate of UNC-Chapel Hill with a BA in African American Studies, Freelon has also been involved with the Department of Music teaching in the Beat Making Lab. He is the youngest person to be appointed by the Governor (2010) to serve on the North Carolina Arts Council board and is the founder of Blackspace an Afrofuturism digital makerspace based in Durham.  Special thanks to the North Carolina Arts Council for sponsoring Pierce and his workshop. For more information, go to www.ncarts.org