Résumé

Education

The New England Conservatory, Boston Massachusetts – Classical Vocal Technique
Berklee School of Music, Boston, Massachusetts – Jazz Vocal Technique & Lyric Diction
Howard University, Washington, DC – Classical Vocal Technique
University of South Carolina – B.A. Journalism

Teaching Artist

(Cultural Arts Programming including Professional Development for Teachers, Residencies for Students, & Summer Institute Leader)

The John F.Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts – Washington, DC 1997-present

  • Design and lead arts integrated professional development workshops for teachers throughout the country
  • Facilitate classroom residencies throughout the country
  • Perform world music and jazz repertoire for conferences and schools throughout the country
  • Model in-depth classroom Instruction & facilitate coaching sessions for teachers throughout the country
  • Developed and taught the workshop “Telling Your Story Through the Beat of Jazz” for all teachers
  • Developed and taught the course “Building Reading Comprehension Through Sounds & Rhythms”
    • for the changing education through the Arts (CETA) program
  • Developed and taught the course “World Cultures Through Music” for music education majors at Berkeley University (CA), Stanford University (CA), Eastern New Mexico University (NM) and Hofstra University (NY)

Great Neck Arts Center – Long Island, NY 2010-2015

  • Design and lead arts integrated professional development workshops for teachers
  • Model in-depth classroom instruction for teachers
  • Lead classroom residencies within Nassau and Suffolk Counties

Professional Development for Art Education, University of North Florida – Jacksonville, FL 2008-2011

  • Created arts integrated professional development workshops for primary teachers
  • Constructed and implemented instruction for World Culture, a course for upper classmen at UNF
  • Modeled in-depth classroom instruction & facilitated coaching sessions for primary teachers

Imagination Stage-Bethesda, MD/Imagination Quest-American University-Washington, DC 1996-2010

(Lockheed Martin Grant)

  • As senior faculty member – taught an arts integration literacy program through a traditional world music medium
  • Created Imagination Quest arts integration curriculum for students grade K-8 in Language Arts, Life Sciences, Math, and Social Sciences
  • Implemented professional development for primary and secondary teachers in Washington, DC, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, New Jersey, and Florida
  • Provided enrichment instruction for after-school programs, both at community satellite centers and on site at Imagination Stage

Summer Institutes

(Develop multiple workshops from 1.5 to 3 to 6 hours. Training teachers in arts learning in music, and arts integration through music to support the Language Arts and Social Studies curriculum)

United Arts Council of North Carolina – Wakefield, NC 2009-Present

(North Carolina State Arts Council Grant)

The John F.Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts – Washington, DC 2003/2017/2019

(US Department of Education Grant)

Maui Arts & Cultural Center – Maui, Hawaii 2008/2015/2017

(National Endowment for the Arts Grant)

Straight A’s: Arts Advance Academic Achievement – Birmingham, Al 2011-2015

(US Department of Education Grant)

University of North Florida – Jacksonville, FL 2005-2011

(US Department of Education Grant)

Additional Teaching Experience

(World Music & Jazz Instructor)

Inner City- Inner Child – Washington, DC – Year Round (Early Childhood) 2015 – Present

Washington Performing Arts (WPA) – Washington, DC – Year Round 2013 – Present

Levine School of Music – Washington, DC – Summer Camps 1996-2000

  • Teaching Artist in schools year round
  • Individual and Choral Instruction – vocal techniques 
  • Jazz Education Programs

Montgomery Primary Achievement Center – Silver Spring, MD – Music Instructor and Therapist 2000-2008

(Students with developmental delays including Autism, Speech Impairments and Physical Disabilities)

  • Designed curriculum that provided an alternate means of communciation to traditional language for special needs students ages 2 – 8
  • Employed usage of sounds, traditional songs, and rhythmic patterns, using hand percussive instruments to create their own music

Hyde Elementary, DC Public School – Washington, DC – Classroom Teacher (K-5) 2001-2004

National Child Research Center (NCRC) – Washington, DC – Classroom Teacher (K-3) 1998-2001

  • Planned, taught and evaluated curriculum for students
  • demonstrated the similarities and differences between other cultures and our own through story, song and rhythmic patterns

Performance Experience

London 2013 – The Cultural Olympiad, Barbican Centre – London, UK 2013Wynton at 30th Celebration – Rose Hall, Jazz at Lincoln Center – New York, NY 2011World Music Institute with ODADAA – Symphony Space – New York, NY 1989 – 2010

DVD Recordings

“Congo Square Live” at the Montreal International Jazz Fest (DVD) with ODADAA and Wynton Marsalis & The Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra 2017The National Geographic Television’s Explorer Series (Soundtracks) 1990-1996

Television & Radio

SUNDANCE ICONOCLASTS “Wynton Marsalis & John Besh” 2007-2009BET & BET Jazz Documentary “Journey with Jazz at the Lincoln Center” (2 Episodes) 2005-2007Voice of America 1998BET Jazz Central 1996

Publications

IYIPO AYÉ (with sing-a-long compact disc) 2007DHIMIKI (with sing-a-long compact disc) 2001

References

~ References Available Upon Request ~