Dionte has been a judge since 2020
Dionté L. Durham
Bitter Jester Music Festival Judge & Member of the Education Team
“I can literally write a book here on how this is changing the lives of so many bright young stars. Bitter Jester, I’m a FOREVER fan and just excited to witness this awesomeness!”
-Dionté Durham
Dionté Durham, Chicago native, Entertainment Attorney, and Co-Founder of The House Chi, Chicago’s premiere live music showcase. Dionté’s passion for music resonated at an early age, from singing in his church’s young adult choir to playing trumpet for his middle school’s beginning band. In high school, Dionté went on to join Chicago’s All-City Jazz Band and became first chair in his high school’s Symphonic Band.
While at the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign, Dionté decided to continue his passion for music through singing. He sang with many groups including, the U of I Black Chorus, Soul Premier, The Musiq Xperience and local gospel groups His Children and Noah I Brown and Company.
After graduation, Dionté returned to Chicago and auditioned for Grammy Nominated / Stellar Award & Dove Award-winning gospel group, New Direction. Dionté recorded and toured on their 5th studio album entitled Destiny. New Direction was also featured three times on Fox’s hit series, Empire and toured as backing vocalists on Diddy’s Bad Boy Reunion Tour.
Still with the passion to become an entertainment attorney, Dionté enrolled in the University of Illinois at Chicago Law School, graduating in 2012. Dionte is currently Senior Legal Counsel for global tech company, Infosys Ltd, and had his own law practice handling real estate and entertainment law matters.
In 2018, Dionté and his business partner cofounded The House Chi, an intimate live music showcase, which provides local and seasoned artists a unique platform to show off their music and grow through live performance. Shameless plug: be sure to follow The House Chi on IG: @thehousechi and Facebook: @thehousechi.
“The Bitter Jester Foundation for the Arts is such a wonderful organization and I’m excited to be a part.
Any organization out there to support the youth in pursuing their artistic talents and goals, I will always be in support of. Thank you guys for doing what you do.”
Dionté first judged the BJMF virtual Original Song Competition in 2020 and was beyond impressed. A year later he was thrilled to become part of the Music Festival’s Education Team, providing educational assistance, financial support, and joining Michael Tseitlin on Friday Nights giving performers real-time verbal feedback recorded while they perform. He’s always excited to hear the great music coming out of Bitter Jester and can’t wait for the live shows!
