I am going to make an impact on how the jazz genre incorporates “non-tradional” jazz instruments. I play jazz violin and I find that in many jazz settings people get confused on how to incorporate me into the ensemble. Not because violin doesn’t have a long history in jazz but because it hasn’t been as popularized in jazz like trumpet, saxophone, etc. My goal is to change this through workshops, tours, recordings/albums, and videos/books on how to incorporate not only violin but other “non-standard” big band instruments into the jazz big band. Anytime I’ve talked to someone about violin being in a jazz big band, they say that there’s no repertoire to represent that, so it’s harder to incorporate. I want to create/showcase repertoire incorporating both strings and horns together in jazz big bands, so it doesn’t continue to be one or the other. This will be accomplished by arranging current jazz standards for a jazz big band with both horns and strings. The success of my work on society will change the jazz genre as a whole, creating a new innovation of the genre for the world. I not only want to increase repertoire but also spread knowledge to young violinists/others who play “non-traditional” jazz instruments that their pathway isn’t limited to only classical music. Many string players I’ve met say they want to learn jazz but get too scared to venture outside of what’s “normal”. Through studying under #1 Jazz Violinist in the world, Regina Carter, during my bachelors in Global Jazz Studies at UCLA this fall 2026, I’ll work to change these perspectives and create more spaces where “non-standard” jazz instruments can learn jazz to the same degree “traditional” instruments get. My youtube college audition videos: https://youtu.be/tzEI4lGCgWA?si=dWV4eB_EwQp4gr9F https://youtu.be/IGTsRYN1YdU?si=tUZttHXmadD5l54k

I am going to make an impact on how the jazz genre incorporates “non-tradional” jazz instruments. I play jazz violin and I find that in many jazz settings people get confused on how to incorporate me into the ensemble. Not because violin doesn’t have a long history in jazz but because it hasn’t been as popularized in jazz like trumpet, saxophone, etc. My goal is to change this through workshops, tours, recordings/albums, and videos/books on how to incorporate not only violin but other “non-standard” big band instruments into the jazz big band. Anytime I’ve talked to someone about violin being in a jazz big band, they say that there’s no repertoire to represent that, so it’s harder to incorporate. I want to create/showcase repertoire incorporating both strings and horns together in jazz big bands, so it doesn’t continue to be one or the other. This will be accomplished by arranging current jazz standards for a jazz big band with both horns and strings. The success of my work on society will change the jazz genre as a whole, creating a new innovation of the genre for the world. I not only want to increase repertoire but also spread knowledge to young violinists/others who play “non-traditional” jazz instruments that their pathway isn’t limited to only classical music. Many string players I’ve met say they want to learn jazz but get too scared to venture outside of what’s “normal”. Through studying under #1 Jazz Violinist in the world, Regina Carter, during my bachelors in Global Jazz Studies at UCLA this fall 2026, I’ll work to change these perspectives and create more spaces where “non-standard” jazz instruments can learn jazz to the same degree “traditional” instruments get. While these continue to be my future goals, I’ve already started working on this in my area. I joined jazz band in 8th grade on violin and when my local high school told me they wouldn’t allow me to continue, I created my own jazz combo to continue jazz violin. Then I joined Sojourner Truth African Heritage Museum’s TALA Jazz Ensemble performing at Teagarden Jazz Festival each year. After 2 years of experiencing a lot of harassment, discrimination, and retaliation at my local high school for asking they won’t let me pursue jazz violin, so I switched to an online high school and took in-person community college classes. I also joined the jazz band and jazz combo classes there playing jazz violin. This created representation for people in my area, where many people believed violin doesn’t belong in jazz. The second time I went to Teagarden Jazz Festival, I still thought I couldn’t be a candidate for any scholarship because violin wasn’t listed but to my surprise I won a jazz camp scholarship. So, summer 2025 I went to Teagarden Jazz Camp and they changed the website stating that starting this year they’ll accept all instruments because any instrument can learn jazz. October 2025 I auditioned into their foundations Honors Traditional Jazz Combo becoming the first jazz violinist in the combo established 1989. In the past year, I’ve seen more jazz programs in my area begin accepting and encouraging “non-traditional” jazz instruments. I plan to continue this and expand it for the world, so other young players know that jazz is an option for them too.

I am going to make an impact on how the jazz genre incorporates “non-tradional” jazz instruments. I play jazz violin and I find that in many jazz settings people get confused on how to incorporate me into the ensemble. Not because violin doesn’t have a long history in jazz but because it hasn’t been as popularized in jazz like trumpet, saxophone, etc. My goal is to change this through workshops, tours, recordings/albums, and videos/books on how to incorporate not only violin but other “non-standard” big band instruments into the jazz big band. Anytime I’ve talked to someone about violin being in a jazz big band, they say that there’s no repertoire to represent that, so it’s harder to incorporate. I want to create/showcase repertoire incorporating both strings and horns together in jazz big bands, so it doesn’t continue to be one or the other. This will be accomplished by arranging current jazz standards for a jazz big band with both horns and strings. The success of my work on society will change the jazz genre as a whole, creating a new innovation of the genre for the world. I not only want to increase repertoire but also spread knowledge to young violinists/others who play “non-traditional” jazz instruments that their pathway isn’t limited to only classical music. Many string players I’ve met say they want to learn jazz but get too scared to venture outside of what’s “normal”. Through studying under #1 Jazz Violinist in the world, Regina Carter, during my bachelors in Global Jazz Studies at UCLA this fall 2026, I’ll work to change these perspectives and create more spaces where “non-standard” jazz instruments can learn jazz to the same degree “traditional” instruments get. While these continue to be my future goals, I’ve already started working on this in my area. I joined jazz band in 8th grade on violin and when my local high school told me they wouldn’t allow me to continue, I created my own jazz combo to continue jazz violin. Then I joined Sojourner Truth African Heritage Museum’s TALA Jazz Ensemble performing at Teagarden Jazz Festival each year. After 2 years of experiencing a lot of harassment, discrimination, and retaliation at my local high school for asking they won’t let me pursue jazz violin, so I switched to an online high school and took in-person community college classes. I also joined the jazz band and jazz combo classes there playing jazz violin. This created representation for people in my area, where many people believed violin doesn’t belong in jazz. The second time I went to Teagarden Jazz Festival, I still thought I couldn’t be a candidate for any scholarship because violin wasn’t listed but to my surprise I won a jazz camp scholarship. So, summer 2025 I went to Teagarden Jazz Camp and they changed the website stating that starting this year they’ll accept all instruments because any instrument can learn jazz. October 2025 I auditioned into their foundations Honors Traditional Jazz Combo becoming the first jazz violinist in the combo established 1989. In the past year, I’ve seen more jazz programs in my area begin accepting and encouraging “non-traditional” jazz instruments. I plan to continue this and expand it for the world, so other young players know that jazz is an option for them too.

I am going to make an impact on how the jazz genre incorporates “non-tradional” jazz instruments. I play jazz violin and I find that in many jazz settings people get confused on how to incorporate me into the ensemble. Not because violin doesn’t have a long history in jazz but because it hasn’t been as popularized in jazz like trumpet, saxophone, etc. My goal is to change this through workshops, tours, recordings/albums, and videos/books on how to incorporate not only violin but other “non-standard” big band instruments into the jazz big band. Anytime I’ve talked to someone about violin being in a jazz big band, they say that there’s no repertoire to represent that, so it’s harder to incorporate. I want to create/showcase repertoire incorporating both strings and horns together in jazz big bands, so it doesn’t continue to be one or the other. This will be accomplished by arranging current jazz standards for a jazz big band with both horns and strings. The success of my work on society will change the jazz genre as a whole, creating a new innovation of the genre for the world. I not only want to increase repertoire but also spread knowledge to young violinists/others who play “non-traditional” jazz instruments that their pathway isn’t limited to only classical music. Many string players I’ve met say they want to learn jazz but get too scared to venture outside of what’s “normal”. Through studying under #1 Jazz Violinist in the world, Regina Carter, during my bachelors in Global Jazz Studies at UCLA this fall 2026, I’ll work to change these perspectives and create more spaces where “non-standard” jazz instruments can learn jazz to the same degree “traditional” instruments get. While these continue to be my future goals, I’ve already started working on this in my area. I joined jazz band in 8th grade on violin and when my local high school told me they wouldn’t allow me to continue, I created my own jazz combo to continue jazz violin. Then I joined Sojourner Truth African Heritage Museum’s TALA Jazz Ensemble performing at Teagarden Jazz Festival each year. After 2 years of experiencing a lot of harassment, discrimination, and retaliation at my local high school for asking they won’t let me pursue jazz violin, so I switched to an online high school and took in-person community college classes. I also joined the jazz band and jazz combo classes there playing jazz violin. This created representation for people in my area, where many people believed violin doesn’t belong in jazz. The second time I went to Teagarden Jazz Festival, I still thought I couldn’t be a candidate for any scholarship because violin wasn’t listed but to my surprise I won a jazz camp scholarship. So, summer 2025 I went to Teagarden Jazz Camp and they changed the website stating that starting this year they’ll accept all instruments because any instrument can learn jazz. October 2025 I auditioned into their foundations Honors Traditional Jazz Combo becoming the first jazz violinist in the combo established 1989. In the past year, I’ve seen more jazz programs in my area begin accepting and encouraging “non-traditional” jazz instruments. I plan to continue this and expand it for the world, so other young players know that jazz is an option for them too.