Vol. 1 Issue 2 | A PUBLICATION OF THE YOUNG MUSICIAN'S UNIVERSITY
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A P R I L
YMU
GMG Academy of the Arts is now
The Young Musician's University Music Education Reimagined
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IN THIS ISSUE
DIRECTOR'S NOTE
We are so happy to be celebrating our 18th year of "Giving the Gift of Music!" Thank you for reading our second issue of YMU Collective as we transition away from an email newsletter format into a digital magazine format! This publication highlights YMU Students, Staff, and other subjects of interest with contributions from our staff as well as YMU student writers. If you are a YMU student interested in contributing and being a part of the YMU Collective Team, please send me a message through the YMU Portal. I would love to speak with you and get your insight. Please know that you do not have to be a local student to participate, we will have virtual connect meetings to discuss upcoming events and content. I hope that you enjoy this publication of the YMU Collective!
Mrs. Gray Director, The Young Musician's University
05 Tierra Ingram YMU Student Spotlight
07 Competition Winners YMU Spelling Bee and Fastest Hands Winners
11 Student Level Ups! Help us congratulate these YMU students for passing their YMU end of Course Assessments
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YMU
The Young Musician's University YMU Moves Forward! "Music Education Reimagined" We are so excited because March
Over the years we have adapted and evolved
commemorated our 18th Anniversary of
in order to provide our students with the
"Giving The Gift of Music!" During this
best learning experience possible through
month, we hosted various virtual
the use of new technologies. This
masterclasses with special guest musicians
advancement has allowed us to offer self-
and other activities, such as our YMU
paced courses, live in-person classes, and
Fastest Hands Competition and our YMU
live virtual classes to students across the
Music Spelling Bee for all of our students.
nation as we continue to provide quality
We also launched our newest program,
music instruction to our young musicians!
Little Music Essentials, a self-paced virtual
Since COVID-19, we have had tremendous
piano class for toddlers ages 4-6!
success in providing services beyond our brick-and-mortar location. We are thrilled
GMG's new name, The Young Musician's
to have the vision and capability to expand
University allows us to better communicate
our services to students throughout the US.
and reflect our values, goals, and
We are also extremely excited that our
commitment to our students. The Young
identity and mission are now reflected in
Musician's University provides us with a
our name! We look forward to continuing
unique identity that reflects who we are as
our journey with our YMU Students and
a music school, "Music Education
their amazing parents!
Reimagined." READ A RECENT ARTICLE PUBLISHED IN THE PANORAMA
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“MUSIC COMES TO ME MORE READILY THAN WORDS.” L U D W I G
V A N
B E E T H O V E N
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THE YOUNG MUSICIAN'S UNIVERSITY
STUDENT SPOTLIGHT
Tierra Ingram
CONGRATS!!
Our student spotlight recognizes students who are exceptionally demonstrating growth and musically excelling. We are so grateful to be associated with these fantastic students and their supportive parents! Again Congratulations Tierra! Keep up the great work!
ABOUT TIERRA I am 17 and a junior at Spring Valley High School. I play the piano and have been a student at YMU for about 8 years. I like to listen to music and play new pieces. I consider myself a hard worker and like to try new things. I look forward to exploring music further in the future!
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"Not only does Tierra continue to excel musically, but she continues to grow in confidence in other areas. During our Anniversary month, she registered for multiple events and even won the Music Spelling Bee in the Middle/High School Competition. This is a wonderful achievement for Tierra. Not only did she compete in multiple events, but she also wrote part of a song in the Songwriting Masterclass with Ms. Kierra. Tierra is doing exceptionally well in her YMU Ear Training Essentials 2 Course for piano. It's a joy watching her grow not only as a musician but also as an individual. Keep up the good work!" -Mr. Gray, YMU Instructor
LITTLE music
Essentials
Virtual Self-Paced Piano Class with an Award-Winning Curriculum designed for ages 4-6 Imaginative Instruction Custom Interactive Games
Enrolling Now! Visit www.ymunow.com to
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Meet the 2021 YMU Anniversary Competition
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Virtual
Spelling Bee Congratulations to TIERRA INGRAM for winning the Middle/High School Virtual Music Spelling Bee Competition!
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YMU
The Young Musician's University
FASTEST HANDS COMPETITION ! r e n n i W
a u h J os l
l l e b p m Ca 9
YMU
The Young Musician's University
FASTEST HANDS COMPETITION
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! t I d i You D CONG R A T ULATION S TO THE FOLLOW I N G STUD E N T S FOR PA SSING THEIR YMU E N D O F COUR S E ASSESSM ENTS! Azaria Jenkins - YMU Vocal Essentials 1A Caelan King-Mcneil - YMU Piano Essentials 1B Gabby Lloyd - YMU Piano Essentials 2C Jaden Campbell - YMU Ear Training Essentials 1 Joshua Adams - YMU Major Seventh Chords Kylee Otto - YMU Piano Essentials 1C Tierra Ingram - YMU Major Seventh Chords Zion Murphy - YMU Piano Essentials 2C
MR. JENKINS - APRIL 1 SOLOMON COBBS - APRIL 7 JOSHUA ADAMS - APRIL 8 JASPER ADAMS - APRIL 8 TYLIN WHITE - APRIL 15 *If your child's birthday is not listed, please contact the office so that we can add their DOB to their profile. 11
YMU Alum Releases Joint Album/Novel
TYNÉ ANGELA FREEMAN Tyné Angela Freeman released a joint album/novel entitled The Sky Is Deeper Than The Sea. The album is available on digital streaming platforms, while the book is available for purchase on Amazon.com. Each song on the album corresponds to a chapter in the book. The narrative is set in the early 1900s, and the central character is a young woman who is migrating from Georgia to Harlem. The story follows her journey and explores key cultural phenomena of the era, including the Great Migration and the Harlem Renaissance. This multimedia work brings together music and long-form literature in an innovative way. AMAZON
SPOTIFY
ITUNES
About Tyné is a vocalist, composer, and author. She graduated from Dartmouth College in 2017 with a degree in music. Tyné has released five independent records and has performed across the U.S. and internationally. She was a performer in the Kennedy Center's Millennium Stage Series, a YoungArts national winner, and a finalist in the 2018 Independent Music Awards. Her recent adventures include participating in the International Workshop in Jazz and Creative Music at Banff Centre, beginning studies at a conservatory in London, and publishing her debut novel. 12
The Young Musician's University
VIRTUAL
Clinic
KIERRA GRAY
for providing the student participants with a wonderful experience in your Virtual Songwriting Clinic! It was exciting to see them explore the elements of songwriting, compose their own lyrical content, in addition to gaining your helpful feedback about their original songs.
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"It's always an honor to be able to to teach what you know. Thank you YMU for the opportunity to share my love for songwriting!" - Kierra Gray
KIERRA GRAY Along with doing workshops for YMU, Kierra is also preparing to do a 4-hour clinic for the community organization, The People's Forum, based in New York. She will be leading the songwriting workshop in the larger context of their first 8-week political education school on Art, Culture, and Resistance. Not only will there be students from the East and West coasts of the US, but students from other parts of the world like India, Africa, and Latin America, will be in attendance as well.
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DEVEN JENKINS, YMU INSTRUCTOR, PLAYS WITH JAZZ LEGEND WYCLIFFE GORDON
If you've had any interaction with Mr. Jenkins, you know that he is a passionate music educator at YMU. He has a sincere desire to not only teach his students how to play the drums but to teach them how to be the best versions of themselves! In addition to being an educator, he is a phenomenal musician with a very impressive performance resume. He recently had the opportunity to perform with a band called Weatherproof alongside the legendary jazz musician Wycliffe Gordon. Weatherproof is a Jazz Group headed by Mark Rouse who also plays the trumpet. The other musicians included Lee Bailey on the piano and keyboard, Brian Reed on the upright bass, and Sam Walters playing the flute. This concert was a wonderful breath of fresh air amid the pandemic as they shared a fabulous night of Jazz! The event was live-streamed and can be viewed by pressing play.
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YMU Instructor Deven Jenkins playing drums with Wycliffe Gordon on trombone.
WHO IS WYCLIFFE GORDON? Wycliffe Gordon experiences an impressive career touring the world performing to great acclaim from audiences and critics alike. Jazz Journalists Association named him 2020 “Trombonist of the Year” for the record breaking 13th time, and he’s topped Downbeat Critics Poll for “Best Trombone” again for an unprecedented six times (2020, 2018, 2016, 2014, 2013 & 2012). Last year he was the recipient of the “Louie Award”, the International Trombone Award and the Satchmo Award, among others. Wycliffe is a prolific recording artist and is extremely popular for his unmatched signature sound, plunger technique and unique vocals. He can be heard on hundreds of recordings, soundtracks, live DVD’s and documentaries. In addition to an exceptionally successful solo career, Gordon tours regularly leading his quintet, headlining at legendary jazz venues and performing arts centers throughout the world. He is commissioned frequently, and has an extensive catalog of original compositions that span the various timbres of jazz and chamber music. Musicians and ensembles of every caliber perform his music throughout the world and his arrangement of the theme song to NPR’s “All Things Considered” is heard daily across the globe. Gordon is a former veteran member of the Wynton Marsalis Septet, the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra and has been a featured guest artist on Billy Taylor's "Jazz at the Kennedy Center" Series. Gordon is also one of America’s most persuasive and committed music educators, and serves as Director of Jazz Studies at Augusta University in Augusta, GA. Wycliffe Gordon is a Yamaha Performing Artist and has his own line of Wycliffe Gordon Pro Signature Mouthpieces by Pickett Brass. Visit www.wycliffegordon.com for more information.
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We want to thank Arischa Conner for doing such a beautiful job in the Vocal Performance Masterclass! It was AMAZING seeing the growth of each vocalist who participated! It is always a joy having Arischa present to our students and we hope to see her back soon! 17
"It was my esteemed pleasure!! We can do so much in an hour!!! They flourished right before our eyes!" ARISCHA CONNER YMU VOCAL PERFORMANCE MASTERCLASS CLINICIAN, ACTRESS, VOCALIST
Arischa Conner Arischa, pronounced (Ah-rish-sha) Conner is a multi-talented, vocal performer, musician, actress, writer, and director. You can find Arischa in Maverick Movies international release of “Yesterday is Still Gone” as the character Sheila, on the nationally syndicated CBS Dreamteam show “Chicken Soup for the Souls Hidden Heroes”, Season 1 Ep. 1,
and co-starring on the Hallmark Movie, Another Tango. Arischa has also been featured in commercials for Bojangles, the Georgia Lottery, as a principal in the ReadyCNA training mini-series, “The Residents.” She is currently working on two new original series for Apple TV (CBS), and a limited series on Hulu.
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THANK YOU!
Our students had a wonderful time with drummer extraordinaire, Clyde Frazier III, at YMU's Virtual Drum Clinic! We appreciate all of the knowledge and expertise that he shared with our young drummers and look forward to him coming back soon!
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"NOW THIS IS AN EXCITING HONOR TO BE THE GUEST CLINICIAN FOR THE YOUNG MUSICIAN'S UNIVERSITY DRUM CLINIC. TO CHALLENGE THEIR MINDS WITH VAST PERCUSSIVE KNOWLEDGE IS A GREAT WAY TO SHARPEN THE SAW FOR LIFE." - CLYDE FRAZIER III
Educator, Performing Musician, Partly Cloudy Band Leader
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Thank you! Thank you Digby for sharing your expertise with our students! They were able to learn from you and Baby Lion producer, Brett Annese, about the role of music in the film industry.
JERRY DIGBY Digby started out as a New York PA and put in his time rising through the ranks on crew well before inclusion was a buzzword. The film set was his school, and his “professors” were renowned directors at amazing production companies such as MJZ, Park Pictures, RSA, Curious Pictures, and Bullitt Branded. Over the years he has held pretty much every position on crew, and creatively he’s been able to avoid putting his talent in a box. He is a director, DP, photographer, artist, animator, and editor. All of these skill sets have made Digby a stronger storyteller with a broad creative perspective that’s unique and perfect for today.
BRETT ANNESE Brett Annese is a Producer in Los Angeles. He has over 10 years of experience working on creative projects in all mediums: documentary, commercial, film, TV, music video, and live music performances. His diverse background in all aspects of production, his creativity, and his passion for film help him conquer any challenge in the world of filmmaking. 21
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THANK YOU MR. J!
You provided such an in-dept drum clinic for our YMU Drummers! It was great seeing them interact with you as they learned the concepts you were teaching in the workshop!
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Here are some snapshots of our YMU Little Music Essentials Students!
We had a wonderful time at our virtual Toddler Music Party! It is always a joy being able to work with such young musicians as we experience their growth and love for music at YMU! 24
YMU
The Young Musician's University
2003
2021
