8 minute read
Juilliard Grads
Nightcrawling by Leila Mottley A young high-school dropout finds herself drawn into the world of prostitution on the streets of Oakland, CA. while trying to take care of an abandoned boy. The novel was recently selected for Oprah’s Book Club.
Flipped: How Georgia Turned Purple and Broke the Monopoly
Advertisement
on Republican Power by Greg Bluestein The Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s political writer looks back at the bruising 2020 election and how it flipped the balance of power in a one deeply red state. Metropolis by BA Shapiro Six people of various means living and working out of a storage warehouse find themselves caught up in a murder investigation when a stranger falls down an elevator shaft. Harley Quin: Reckoning by Rachael Allen The first book in a trilogy of novels detailing the origin of DC Comics villain Harley Quinn during her college years and her participation in a vigilante girl gang.
Gathering Blossoms Under Fire: The
Journals of Alice Walker edited by Valerie Boyd The late Boyd organized 50 years of Walker’s diaries to create a portrait of the Pulitzer Prize-winning author and her development as a writer and activist.
Friends go from middle school bandmates to Juilliard grads
By Dyana Bagby
Kevin Oliver Jr. and Joshua Williams bonded over a love for music while attending a Metro Atlanta middle school. Today, the best friends are graduates of The Juilliard School, one of the world’s leading performing arts schools based in New York City.
The young men are now pursuing professional music careers in the Big Apple. Kevin, 21, a jazz alto saxophonist, received a $20,000 entrepreneurship and career advancement grant from Juilliard he is using to record an album. Joshua, 22, a tuba player, is pursuing a master’s degree at Juilliard and auditioning with different orchestras.
Both say they would not be where they are without the other’s encouragement, support, and challenging each other to make better music. Before they were friends, though, they were rivals.
“We started off as mortal enemies,” Kevin said with a laugh.
Both ended up attending Sandtown Middle School in South Fulton where they both sought to play saxophone for the school band taught by Sarkino Walker. Kevin said playing the saxophone came almost naturally in elementary school, sealing his love for the instrument. Joshua, who was born in New Orleans, envisioned himself a young jazz protege connecting with his hometown roots.
“We would have auditions for who gets first chair in the sixth-grade band, and only a certain amount of saxophone players got chosen to be in the jazz band,” Joshua said.
“So we were in competition with each other. And we did not like that because, of course, you want to be the best even at the age of 12,” he said.
But there were too many saxophone players, so their band teacher, Ms. Walker, asked if anyone wanted to play tuba. Joshua’s brother played tuba and he liked the sound the large horn made. So, Joshua switched to tuba.
With the rivalry now out of the way, Kevin and Joshua quickly became good friends because they shared a passion for being the best musicians they could be. They liked other stuff, too.
“We loved going to the band room in our spare time to just play music,” Joshua said. “We both go to the same church. We both really like football, playing video games. And we just realized there were more things we have in common — so it was, like, how can we not be friends?”
Kevin said Joshua’s friendship at Sandtown Middle School made him want to be a better musician.
“We kind of grew with each other, and pushed each other to be better,” he said.
“I just fell in love with music and the saxophone. And by the time I was in seventh grade, I knew that that’s what I wanted to do for a profession,” he said.
“By that time, I knew I either wanted to go to Juilliard or Southern University, an HBCU in Louisiana,” Kevin said.
“I knew the prestige that surrounded Juilliard even in the seventh grade,” he said. “I didn’t know much about anything, but I knew that. And I wanted to study music at the highest level, so that was definitely the place to do it.”
Joshua went to Tri-Cities High School in East Point and Kevin went to Westlake High School in South Fulton. Both continued to play in the school bands and also played with various Atlanta university jazz bands, studied with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, as well as district honor bands and all-state bands.
Juilliard is notoriously difficult to get into. About 7% to 8% of applicants are accepted at the school with enrollment now at roughly 800 undergrad and graduate students. Tuition and other expenses can run about $80,000 year to attend. Kevin and Joshua applied to several schools not expecting to get into Juilliard. The application process is a rigorous one, including performing live. But they excelled during the process, were accepted and were awarded scholarships. The love of music only grew, they said. “I like the saxophone because I feel like it gives me a voice,” Kevin said. “Being able to express yourself artistically, it does so many good things for you emotionally,” he said. “Growing up, I loved math and science … and language was definitely one of the more difficult things for me. I just feel like I can tell my story the best way possible on the saxophone.”
And Joshua wants people to understand the beauty of the tuba beyond its massive size and perceived clunky, loud booming noises.
“A lot of times when you think of a tuba, you don’t really think of anything necessarily very melodic or very virtuosic,” he said.
“But the tuba is kind of a reflection of how I just like seeing people in general, in the world — never assume what anyone can or cannot do know based off how they look,” he said. “I feel like that reflects through me through the tuba.”
Kevin Oliver Jr. Joshua Williams
Beyond your expectations.
BROOKDALE PARK 2418 Brookdale Drive Offered for $495,000 Neal Heery 404.312.2239 George Heery 404.643.7347
BROOKWOOD HILLS
204 Camden Road Offered for $1,549,000 Kyle Baumann 404.242.0994 Elise Baumann 404.375.5037
BUCKHEAD
2795 Peachtree Road, No. 1207 Offered for $479,000 Stephanie Sorrell 404.330.4418
BUCKHEAD
3334 Peachtree Road, No. 1903 Offered for $899,000 Angela Cashion 404.423.5245
BUCKHEAD 3713 Mayfair Road Offered for $1,995,000 Neal Heery 404.312.2239 George Heery 404.643.7347
CABBAGETOWN
170 Boulevard, No. H523 Offered for $789,000 Jared Sapp 404.668.7233
CHATTAHOOCHEE HILLS
9620 Cedar Grove Road Offered for $5,250,000 Sandra Storrar 404.310.3558 Amy Whist 626.616.1123
GRAYSON
1000 Grayson Parkway Offered for $2,866,000 Nancy Thorpe 404.488.5870 Tracy Patterson 404.932.6532
MIDTOWN
33 Ponce de Leon Avenue, No. 309 Offered for $359,000 Chase Horner 404.754.4133
MIDTOWN
955 Juniper Street, No. 3222 Offered for $337,500 Blaine Palmer 229.400.3674 Wilmot Irvin 704.776.8313
MORNINGSIDE 1230 Beech Valley Road Offered for $1,150,000 Ally May 404.788.7943
MORNINGSIDE 962 Plymouth Road Offered for $1,925,000 Jared Sapp 404.668.7233
POWDER SPRINGS 4210 Lovingwood Trail Offered for $1,800,000 Tricia Leuallen 678.699.3955
VINE CITY 567 Tyler Street Offered for $479,900 Angela Cashion 404.423.5245
VIRGINIA-HIGHLAND
1200 Ponce de Leon Avenue, Unit A7 Offered for $1,185,500 Allen Snow 404.931.1176
SAUSALITO, CALIFORNIA
71 Glen Drive Offered for $6,000,000 Golden Gate Sotheby’s International Realty
Intown & Beyond
3820 ROSWELL ROAD # 608
Atlanta
$450,000 549 GLENAIRE WALK SE
Atlanta
$780,000 950 W PEACHTREE ST NW, #2012
Atlanta
$650,000 1392 DOUBLEGATE DRIVE NE
Brookhaven
$620,000
Kirsten Conover 404-386-1103
1632 CASWELL PARKWAY,
Marietta
$475,000
Dara Williams 850-384-7289 Diana Sauvigne 770-374-7274
1109 LYNMOOR DRIVE BROOKHAVEN
Brookhaven
$715,000 3530 HABERSHAM ROAD NW
Atlanta
$1,650,000
Kirsten Conover 404-386-1103
2489 ASHFORD OAKS DRIVE Atlanta $539,000
Cyndie Fenn 770-378-4872
390 17TH STREET NW, #5019
Atlanta
$355,000
Kirsten Conover 404-386-1103
Jessica Li 404-754-6555
222 12TH STREET NE, UNIT#1908
Atlanta
$679,000 261 ELMIRA PLACE NE
Atlanta
$875,000
Beverly Jones 404-550-2198
513 DANIEL AVENUE Decatur $458,500
Jessica Li 404-754-6555 Diana Sauvigne 770-374-7274 Chris Chandler 404-695-2253 Beverly Jones 404-550-2198
WELCOME TO OUR MIDTOWN TEAM
Andre Calaca Deborah Lawrence Don Burroughs
Valerie Levin
MANAGING BROKER 404-266-8100
Valerie.Levin@bhhsgeorgia.com
Valerie.Levin@BHHSGeorgia.com | Midtown.BHHSGeorgia.com | 1163 West Peachree St, Suite 200, Atlanta 30309