Ad*Lib Individual Bios

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Bobby Caddell

Bobby has lived in North Carolina most of his life-from Durham in the north to Charlotte in the south.  After living in South Carolina for a brief period, he returned to the Triangle area and graduated from Orange High School in Hillsborough, NC.   He did not begin singing until he was in his twenties, but hasn't stopped since.  He first sang at his church, but soon branched out and joined a Southern Gospel group, The King's Singers, and later, The Winston's, singing throughout North Carolina, Virginia and Tennessee.

Within a few years, Bobby's heart led him to join a Contemporary Christian group, Perfect Praise, which led to him singing at New Horizon Church and becoming a full-time member of the praise and worship team.  He traveled to Estes Park, CO in the summer of 2002 to participate in the Gospel Music Association's Seminar in the Rockies, making the semi-finals in Contemporary Christian and placing third over all in the Southern Gospel category of the competition.  He has sung in two Goin' Barefoot stage productions and was a member of the troupe as well as a soloist at the AnnualDuke Show for two years.

When he is not singing, Bobby enjoys hiking, basketball and traveling. Returning to college as an adult, he is currently a full-time student at North Carolina State University in Raleigh, NC, pursuing an undergraduate degree in business.  He and his wife, Susan, live in Durham, NC.

Brenda Saunders Hampden

Brenda has extensive education in the field of music, including a bachelor of music education from Howard University, a National Endowment for the Humanities post-graduate fellowship in ethnomusicology from Stanford University, a master in music education from Howard University, and a juris doctor from Seton Hall University School of Law.

Brenda is an associate professor for the Seton Hall University School of Law in Newark, NJ, where she has worked since 1980.  She has taught:  Industrial and Intellectual Property Law, Entertainment Law, Property Law, Copyright Law, Trademark Law, Decedents’ Estates and Trusts, and Legal Research and Writing.   She has served as a visiting professor for North Carolina Central University School of Law in Durham, NC and the Campbell University School of Law in Buies Creek, NC.

                Brenda has a great deal of experience on the legal side of the music industry, and as a performer/arranger, including as a musical director and legal analyst for the Dance Theatre of Harlem, composing and arranging music for the world-renowned Company, as well as the Choral & Percussion Ensembles; as an accompanist for the choral ensemble and the dance classes.

Brenda is the director of music and the gospel choir for Bethel AME Church in Greensboro, NC, and serves a number of churches, including New Horizon Church in Durham, NC.  She served on the Brightleaf Music Workshop Board of Directors, and as a clinician, arranger, and accompanist for seven years.  She has served as an accompanist and arranger for concerts and international show choir competitions for Northern High School in Durham, NC; for the Duke Employees Show; for the Duke Children’s Classic; and for many other school productions.   She has been a pianist and musical director and/or arranger for: Dramatico-musical productions including The Fantasticks; Blues in the Knight [North Carolina Central University]; Tambourines to Glory [Stanford University]; Purlie [Seton Hall University]; Mahalia [Pre-Broadway]; Finian's Rainbow [Off-Broadway]; Bubblin' Brown Sugar, The Wiz [Broadway], and numerous original theatrical productions; Donald Byrd's Stage Band, Washington, DC; Jazzmobile Workshop, New York, NY 

                Brenda has performed with, among others, Marian Anderson, Angela Bofill, LeVar Burton, Dizzy Gillespie, Whitney Houston, Brock Peters and Cicely Tyson.

Marsha Hancock

          A recent graduate of J. F. Webb High School in Oxford, NC, Marsha’s musical career began at an early age.  She has performed in music and dance productions that include being a featured soloist for the Sound of America 2001 European Tour; a soloist and chorus member for The Duke Hospital Benefit Show; a soloist and chorus member for the Duke Brightleaf Musical Workshop for eight years; and as a soloist and chorus member for the Performance Edge Soloist Musical Workshops.  Her musical theatre experience includes a performance as Aphra in the North Carolina Theatre’s Children of Eden; and with Granville Little Theatre in Granville, NC: The Little Shop of Horrors as Crystal; 20^th Anniversary Musical Revue as a soloist; You’re A Good Man, Charlie Brown as Lucy; The Music Man as Amaryllis; and, The Sound of Music as Marta.  She has sung the National Anthem in venues from Reynolds Coliseum at N.C. State to the Dean Dome in Chapel Hill.  Live performances include singing with North Carolina’s own beach band, The Embers, on several occasions.

This year, Marsha’s graduating class at J. F. Webb High School in Oxford, NC was the first senior class in the United States to raise all of the necessary funds to build a house for Habitat for Humanity.  Their efforts were boosted when they hosted a concert, featuring Marsha and other members of Ad*Lib where over $30,000 was raised. 

Marsha attends Belmont University in Nashville, TN this fall studying Commercial Music with a double emphasis in Composing and Arranging and the Music Business.

Yvette Cates

                A native of Statesville, NC, Yvette moved to Durham when she was 12, not long after her singing career began at her grandmother’s church when she was 9.  Popular as a soloist and as a strong choral member, she sang at benefits for Duke Hospital and Delta Sigma Theta, for Habitat for Humanity’s “Build it with Love” concert in Oxford, NC,  and with Arrested to Worship.   While singing with Arrested to Worship in Greensboro, NC, she had the opportunity to open for recording artists, Beverly Crawford and Donnie McClurkin.

With Ad*Lib, Yvette performed at the Inspiration Network’s Christian Artist Talent Search in 2003.  A member of the praise and worship team for New Horizon Church, she enjoys music , theatre, jogging, reading, and spending time with her two daughters, Niche and Kyndal, and her husband, Ernest.

 A licensed cosmetologist, Yvette is employed with Blue Cross and Blue Shield as an operational trainer for Medical Resource Management.  Currently, she is pursuing a degree in Management and Organizational Development at Mount Olive Christian College.

                An Atlanta, GA native and graduate of Northside School of the Performing Arts in Atlanta, Yolanda toured with the “Coke Is It Kids” throughout the United States, Europe and Japan.  She has worked on projects with Ray Charles, Vicki Winans, Liz Spraggins and many others including Isaac Hayes for a special arrangement of “God Bless America” which Yolanda recorded and performed for former United States President Ronald Reagan.

Yolanda has also performed in community theatre for many years, including as Crystal in Little Shop of Horrors, Diana in Chorus Line, and Mrs. Jones in  How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying.  She received the lead role in Archy and Mehitabel at Raleigh Little Theatre and the Cantey Award for Best Actress.  In regional theatre, she played featured roles in Big River and Violet, as well as others.  

 Yolanda performs in industrial shows throughout the year, including a one-woman presentation: American Fruit – African Root.  She plays violin and writes music; and is a part-time genealogist,  web-designer, and  tax-preparer.  A graduate of Boston College law School and a practicing in-house corporate attorney, Yolanda lives in Wake Forest, NC, with her husband, Dereck, their two children, Miles and William, and her Weimeraner, Zuri.

Theresa Burton Richmond

                Theresa is a Durham, NC native.  Married to Darryl Richmond, a singer/songwriter/musician with the Southern Gospel group Charles Johnson and the Revivers, Theresa’s family life revolves around music—whether it is singing, writing, or just enjoying.  She has been a member of the traditional gospel group Margaret Allison & The Angelic Gospel Singers (Malaco Records) for seventeen years.  Her notable performances include: the International Jazz Festival in Bern, Switzerland - May 1991, a festival that included performers: Les McCann, Jay McShann, Marcus Roberts, and Maynard Ferguson; the Fall Tour in France - September/October 1991, Summer Tour in France/Switzerland including Festival de Beaujolais – July/August, 1993; Winter Tour in France including Jazz a Cergy – November/December 1993; Cully Select Jazz Festival in Cully, Switzerland in March 1994; Festival de Gospel a Laruns in France in July 1995; and Festival International de Jazz, in Montreal, Canada in July 1997.

Theresa has performed in the Annual Duke Show from 1997-2002 and in Duke’s Night of Stars from 2001-2003.  She has been a guest vocalist with House of Rhythm at the Capital City Club in Raleigh, NC and at The Governor's Club in Chapel Hill, NC.  A member of the praise and worship team at New Horizon Church in Durham, NC, Theresa’s spare time is spent traveling and shopping.

Felicia Wright Roberson

A native of Hillsborough, NC, Felicia graduated from The University of North Carolina at Greensboro with a degree in Child Development and Family Relations and minor in Music Education.  Putting her degree to work, she is self-employed as a day care provider.

Felicia’s hobbies include an interest in many different sports as a participant and spectator, and a love for musical performance.  She serves as one of the vocal coordinators for New Horizon Church in Durham, NC, and is very passionate about music ministry.

Felicia’s music career has included performances in Dream Girls with Marilyn McCoo and Billy Davis, Jr. and Big River for the North Carolina Theatre; and, Violet for Playmakers Repertory Company in Chapel Hill, NC.  She has performed for the Duke Children’s Classic with Faith Hill, Tim McGraw and Jeff Foxworthy; for Light Up Durham; with the “Spirit-Led” Choir in Eden, NC, and has sung the National Anthem for the Duke Blue Devils, the UNC Tarheels, and the Durham Bulls.  She placed third in the duet competition at the Gospel Music Association’s Seminar in the Rockies in Estes Park, CO, competed with Ad*Lib in the Inspiration Network’s Christian Artist Talent Search, and the Habitat for Humanity fundraiser in Oxford, NC.       

A newlywed, Felicia and her husband, Carlos Roberson, live in their new home in Mebane, NC