Majors: Music Education and Jazz Performance
Hometown: South Kingstown, RI
Q. What makes the College of Arts and Sciences at URI unique?
A. The College of Arts and Sciences is unique due to the sheer support and encouragement provided to students by the faculty and staff. It’s one thing to hold your students to the highest standards of achievement, but when you have teachers who work hard to ensure that each student has the opportunity to attain that level of achievement the results speak for themselves. Without professors like Dr. Aberdam, Dr. Aaslid, and Dr. Goods, or instructors like Prof. Berney, Prof. Zinno, and Prof. Parillo, or staff like Amy Harrington and Gerry Heroux, the Department of Music would be a shell of itself. Our educators are a foundational support that students can lean on for aid, academic or not, who wholeheartedly keep our best interests at heart.
What accomplishments and/or activities at URI are you most proud of now?
I am proud of my diverse involvement and achievements at URI. As a music student, taking upwards of 11 classes (sometimes 14 or 15) per semester is a usual occurrence, but being on the Dean’s List every semester and earning scholarships along the way made all my hard work feel even more worthwhile. With regards to my career path, I am proud of my recitals, the progress I have made both academically and musically, and the relationships I have built along the way. I am proud to have not only developed my skills on the trumpet, but also vocally, having sung in front of a Jazz Combo, the URI Big Band, and for a piece in my Senior Jazz Recital. Generally, I am also especially proud of “Super Splash Bros”, my intramural sports team, which proved a jovial and invigorating outlet whether we were competing in Flag Football, Basketball, Indoor Soccer, Futsal, Battleship, Volleyball, or Ultimate Frisbee.
What research projects, internships, experiential learning, and/or study abroad programs did you participate in at URI? How did they enhance your education?
In the summer of 2019, I had the privilege of working at the Newport Jazz Camp, a week-long overnight camp for high school musicians interested in pursuing further study of jazz and other American music influenced by the African diaspora. This experience gave me the opportunity to work with educators from Salve Regina University (such as Prof. Peter Davis) and West Virginia University (such as Dr. Jared Sims) to lead the students in further discovery of musical concepts and ideas.
Furthermore, I had the opportunity to play at the Newport Jazz Festival with the URI Big Band both my freshman and sophomore years under the direction of Prof. Joe Parillo and Dr. Emmett Goods. My experiences performing and soloing on the big stage have forever impacted me and further motivated my drive to pursue music performance and pedagogy.
What do you value about your liberal arts education?
I value the deeply rooted connections and relationships that my liberal arts education developed. In the Department of Music, it goes deeper than social networking; the relationships you make are meaningful, emotive, and everlasting. Beyond the skills, techniques, and fundamentals that you learn, the ability and numerous opportunities to put them into practice have proven invaluable to my liberal arts education.