Meet the Howard Alumna continuing DC's Rich Music Legacy
Helping to Keep the Funk in the City
Washington DC has long been synonymous with its rich music tradition, as the city's trailblazers in Jazz, Go-go, funk music and more have gone on to inspire the masses. Since 2014, the D.C. Funk Parade has helped maintain that legacy, with its annual celebration of music and arts culture. This year due to the pandemic, the Funk Parade hosted a hybrid series of festivities that included both social-distanced in-person events and a number of virtual experiences. Staying true to its mission, this week-long celebration raised over $1,900 in benefit of Washington, D.C. youth music education programs with the support of the event’s sponsors.This year's festival highlighted the impact of Black Broadway, with performances from some of the areas most renowned musical artists such as Oh He Dead, Chazz G, Les the DJ, Iroquois, Reginald Cyntje, Elijah Baldbed, and Kenny Sharp. The festivities were hosted by The Musicianship, a charitable non-profit organization that facilitates music lessons, experiences, and opportunities to benefit youth who need it most. “Highlighting the history and legacy of our festival’s home corridor on Black Broadway with our sponsors and community partners was an absolute honor and pleasure this year," said Jessica Teachey, Director of Community Engagement at The MusicianShip. As Senior Director of Community Engagement, Jessica has been responsible for producing the DC Funk Parade since their acquisition in 2018.We asked the Howard alumna a few questions below about the legacy of DC Arts and culture, and the impact that she's making for the youth.
What does the legacy of D.C. fine arts means to you, especially with the news of Felicia Rashad as the new Dean of Howard University’s College of Fine Arts?
Howard University has always played an integral role in the Fine Arts space and I'm honored to use my talents to protect it as my actual full-time career. So many of my classmates, family, and friends are a part of The District's artistic fabric also and to know my Alma Mater also leads in that space is an amazing feeling. And when Felicia Rashad's appointment was announced to the public, it took me back to the night when I danced down 14th St. NW with my classmates celebrating Barack Obama's first appointment to office. Watching your idols succeed from this close gives me this immense feeling to...Get Back To Work! And I think that's mostly because anyone who has matriculated through Howard knows the legacy, accomplishment, and expertise that she, and naturally her sister Debbie, will return to The Mecca. We're really looking forward to working even more closely with Howard as The MusicianShip celebrates our graduated students who are a part of Howard's Showtime Marching Band & other Fine Arts ensembles.
Can you expand on how you're changing the lives of youth through music programming?
During the pandemic, at The MusicianShip, we were one of a few music programs that were able to rise above the tides of COVID-19 and completely transfer our in-person music education programs to virtual offerings, not only after-school but also during the summer. Not only did we do this for our students but we also created supplemental content & online support for our parents, whom we recognized would need even more resources during those trying times. As studies have shown, music can change the entire trajectory of a student's mental health and we stand behind that at The MusicianShip. Our paramount goal is to use music as a vehicle of exposure to inspire greatness in a generation of youth who have come to believe otherwise because the internet told them so. Being able to support students in our region with FREE music programs that help them emotionally escape or just break the monotony of Zoom classes was crucial for us over the last two years. Much of this credit is due to our current Deputy Director, former Director of Youth Programs Amber Pannocchia, and her rockstar team of coordinators and educators.
https://youtu.be/-SULJx8fhow
"As studies have shown, music can change the entire trajectory of a student's mental health and we stand behind that at The MusicianShip."
Can you share what’s next for The MusicianShip, and also inform the community on how they can get involved?
In just over a couple of weeks, we will commence what we hope to be our last virtual Summer Program for youth K - 21 completely online. This past March, we celebrated The Wammie Awards' 3rd Birthday at The MusicianShip & in August we'll debut new nomination & voting platform updates that we believe will better serve our regional musicians and industry pros. We're also working closely with the city, local government, and music community stakeholders to learn more about how to safely return our festival, the DC Funk Parade, back to the U. St. Corridor in 2022. Anyone looking for more information on any of our youth or adult programs at The MusicianShip should visit us at: TheMusicianShip.org or send a direct email to: info@themusicianship.org!