Nehemiah Luckett’s love for music was ignited at an early age, fueled by the vibrant rhythms of the South. Growing up in Jackson, Mississippi, he took advantage of a thriving arts community. Born to Rev. Paul Luckett, pastor of multiple United Methodist congregations in Mississippi and Rosemary Luckett, a librarian in the Jackson-Hinds County Library System, their home was filled with music: gospel, classical, and a lot of Michael Jackson. A talented singer, Luckett performed with the Children’s Choir of Mississippi for eight years; during this time the choir toured the United States and Europe with Luckett performing solos at Carnegie Hall and the National Cathedral. He also appeared in multiple productions with Mississippi Opera, including Carmen, Pagliacci, and as the boy soprano soloist in Mendelssohn’s Elijah. At the age of 12, he began serving as the music director at Blessed Trinity UMC, one of the churches where his father served as pastor and his mother was a Sunday School teacher. He led the church youth and adult choirs in gospel, classical, and contemporary sacred music for five years before heading to college. 

Luckett’s first foray into the world of writing musical theater was Hamlet, Prince of Funk (1999), a musical for which he wrote the book, selections of the music, directed and co-produced the production his junior year in high school. The success of this project helped to shape his passion and dedication for bringing communities together to make art. His second full length musical, Brick by Brick (2006), with collaborator Ross Wade, is based on the works of Edgar Allan Poe. Luckett was the composer and music director for jazz singer, a music theater piece conceived with Joshua William Gelb and Moe Yousuf. Based on the 1927 film the musical delves into the controversial use of blackface and the distinctly American story of appropriation and assimilation. Commissioned and produced by the Abron Arts Center in 2019, the production helped facilitate conversations about the roles of identity in American film and theater. 

Through his many commissions for religious settings, Luckett has built a repertoire of sacred music that offers an alternative to patriarchal traditions while honoring the lineages he works within. He served for fifteen years as soloist, assistant music director and composer in residence for the Asbury Crestwood United Methodist Church in Tuckahoe, New York, writing numerous works for special occasions. His Kyrie 2017, written for chorus and two guitars, premiered at Weill Hall at Carnegie Hall on January 13, 2017. Devouring Fire, a soulful exploration of a lone voice crying out in the wilderness was highlighted by Spark and Echo Arts. His Secular Mass, a five-movement work for chorus, string quartet, and oboe, was premiered at Sarah Lawrence College in 2004. 

Luckett has also composed and served as music director for Private Ear Audio Theater, a group that presented live performances of classic and original works of audio drama in Brooklyn, New York. His other theater compositions include electronic music for Tracey Conyer Lee’s Retreat (2020), produced by National Black Theatre, and House of the Negro Insane produced by Contemporary American Theater Festival in 2021. In 2015, Greenpeace UK commissioned Luckett to compose a string quartet as a musical protest against Shell’s Arctic drilling. Requiem for Arctic Ice: “The Northernmost Part” was performed outside of Shell headquarters in London as part of Greenpeace’s ongoing anti-drilling campaign. 

Continuing his tradition of connecting performance and activism Luckett worked as the composer, pianist, lead vocalist and music director for Reverend Billy and The Stop Shopping Choir for ten years from 2011 to 2020. The performance-art group of environmental activists, who have been referred to by academics as “artivists,” have performed at festivals around the world, including the Athens Epidaurus Festival in Athens, Greece; the RCC Fringe Festival in Adelaide, Australia; the Colchester Arts Festival in Colchester, UK; and Internationale Schillertage in Mannheim, Germany. They also made notable appearances at Joe’s Pub and the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York City. During his tenure the group recorded four albums: The Declaration of the Occupation of NYC (2012), Earthalujah (2013), Reverend Billy Joe’s Pub Sermon (2013), and The Earth Wants You (2016). Notable singles include “We Are the 99%” with words from The Declaration of the Occupation of NYC, “Climate Change Blues” composed and performed with Amber Gray with words by Bill Talen and  “Widening Gyre” with words based on The Second Coming by William Butler Yeats.

Music direction credits include New York productions of AMANI (2023), Scene Partners (2023), Sistas (2020), Where We Stand (2020), Caroline, Or Change (2010) and Dial “N” for Negress (2010). Under the leadership of David Loud,  Broadway Music Director, Luckett served as music assistant on a number of productions and workshops including The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess, Scottsboro Boys and had the opportunity to work with Stephen Sondheim and Wynton Marsalis on A Bed and A Chair. He has also music directed numerous educational and community theater productions. Most recently he served as co-composer, co-orchestrator, arranger and music supervisor on RUBY with Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe in Sarasota, Florida. 

As a composer, conductor, and music director, Nehemiah Luckett has collaborated with a diverse array of artists and organizations, bringing his signature blend of soulful storytelling and infectious energy to every project. Whether he's leading a choir in a rousing gospel number or conducting a lush film score Nehemiah Luckett’s passion for music shines through in every note. Projects currently in development include Love Out of Time – a queer time traveling, afro-futurist inspired, bible-based opera; Adia and Clora Snatch Joy – a folk opera in three acts and the ninth and final play in the Ufot Cycle by Mfoniso Udofia; Spunk by Zora Neale Hurston with Tamilla Woodard; Triple Threats with Tracey Conyer Lee; Risk Hallelujah with Orion Johnstone and A Burning Church with Alex Hare and Zhailon Levingston. 

Luckett received a Bachelor of Arts from Sarah Lawrence College and is currently pursuing a Master of Arts in Music at Hunter College in New York. Nehemiah is a member of The Dramatists Guild, American Society of Music Arrangers and Composers (ASMAC) and the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP). He lives in the Bronx with his husband and a wide variety of plants.