Outreach

My first significant experience volunteering was on a self-funded trip to teach at the Ballanta Academy in Sierra Leone, Africa. For two weeks I led group and individual music lessons. My students and I encountered many obstacles such as limited musical resources and language challenges (not to mention the intense heat!). It was daunting at first, but I got to witness music as a force that transcends all cultural and lingual barriers. 

 

Shortly after the 2020 pandemic hit, I co-founded the non-profit Flying Bedroom Theatre Company. We create musical workshops designed to inspire children to enter the arts. As soon as the lockdown lifted, we began touring across the United Kingdom to schools and theaters, and connecting children with their local music services. I will always treasure having provided the first live music experience these children had ever had. 

 

Through the connections I made with Flying Bedroom, I spent two months volunteering with the National Welsh Music Service. I shadowed peripatetic teachers and led whole-class violin lessons. This experience taught me about current music teaching methods in the UK and helped me to conduct research on how we can develop well-rounded musicians from a young age.

 

It’s important to me to give back to the educational establishments that have created the person I am today. I recently gave a career talk to students at my former middle school. Using classical, film and popular music, and the story of my career so far, I demonstrated the importance of always remaining open to trying new experiences.

 

I have been giving concerts in care homes in my local community since I was 9 years old. The concerts are designed sensitively to cater for the diverse needs of the residents including those with dementia. Live music provides residents with a type of stimulation that helps them to reminisce and reconnect.

 

Studying at Queens College in New York City further enhanced my leadership skills to be able to contribute to society by embracing a variety of cultures. Educational projects at Queens College included the annual viola day led by violist Gregory Williams, and delivering violin workshops to local schools as a 'Kupferberg Center for the Arts Teaching Artist'.

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