.jpg)
Desirée Roots, Program Director
Desirée Roots is a celebrated musical and theatre icon in Central Virginia and beyond. With over 35 years of experience, she has showcased her triple-threat talent in the Gospel, Jazz, and Theatre scenes both regionally and internationally. Born and raised in Richmond, VA, Desirée began singing in church at the age of four and launched her professional theatrical career at 13, following the path of her musically inclined family. Throughout the East Coast, Desirée has performed with orchestras, jazz ensembles, and her own groups. She has opened for renowned artists such as Boney James, Brian McKnight, Phyllis Hyman, and B.B. King. A Grammy-nominated recording artist, she has also produced shows like "Ella at 100," celebrating Ella Fitzgerald's centenary. In 2014, she received the Theresa Pollak Award for Vocal Excellence.
More about Desirée
Desirée's career spans the education, corporate, and nonprofit sectors. After earning her B.A. from Virginia Union University, she began teaching, and has been an educator and music facilitator in Henrico and Richmond Public Schools for over 20 years. Other professional positions have included Programming Manager for Richmond Jazz Society, Inc., Booking Manager for Downtown Presents (now Venture Richmond), and client liaison for Drake Beam & Morin, a Fortune 500 company.
Most recently, Desirée served as Artistic Director of Community at Virginia Repertory Theatre, where she led Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Access (IDEA) initiatives, community outreach efforts including building relationships with city and county departments and public schools, and youth-focused theatre programs for Title I schools, including the Disney Musicals in Schools program with Chesterfield County Public Schools and the Theatre Arts Learning League (TALL) with Richmond Public Schools. She also led the first workshop production of Gospel Nativity, a holiday celebration at Virginia Rep Center for Arts and Education.
Desirée began her association with the co-founders of Virginia Rep as a high school intern with Theatre IV. This experience sparked a lifelong passion for the transformative power of the theatre arts. She remains dedicated to continuing her pursuit of artistic excellence in the community she loves. Desirée is a world traveler but all roads lead back to her home in Richmond. Her joys are her kids, her adoring husband, Axel Centeio, and their furry menagerie.
