Brittney Burgess was born and raised within the NYC borough of Queens in a Jamaican family centered on offering all attainable alternatives. Rising up, life was all the time energetic and busy, as she was deeply concerned in sports activities and the humanities.
“I had unimaginable alternatives, particularly in music, together with being a part of the music program at Forest Hills Excessive College and singing with the All-Metropolis Excessive College Choir each Saturday at Frank Sinatra College. I additionally danced with the United African Dance Troupe, took voice classes at Lynbrook Music College with Charlene Berry, and spent my summers on the New York State Summer time College of the Arts – College of Choral Research,” she mentioned.
Burgess sees her mother as essentially the most important affect on her changing into a musician. “My mother and father would let you know that their earliest reminiscence of me singing was once I was 4 years outdated, standing on the lavatory counter with my toothbrush singing Shania Twain’s ‘I Really feel Like a Lady,’” she added.
She mentioned her mother and father have all the time inspired her to comply with her desires, and with their help, she has been in a position to do exactly that.
In 2021, whereas finishing her Grasp of Music diploma on the Eastman College of Music and being concerned within the Black College students Union (BSU), Burgess met Alexis V. Prescott (who earned her Bachelor of Arts diploma at Spelman Faculty) and Brianna Garcon. They supported the institution of Eastman’s first DEI workplace, now the George Walker Heart for Fairness and Inclusion. They later met Kayla Sconiers.
“Our ardour for supporting Black musicians led us to volunteer on the Gateways Music Competition throughout its 2022 efficiency at Carnegie Corridor—the primary all-Black orchestra to carry out on the venue,“ Burgess said.
The ladies’ conversations with Lee Koonce, former President & Inventive Director of Gateways, together with the highly effective performances and experiences they shared with the orchestra, sparked an thought: a community that may deliver collectively Black music college students nationwide. Pushed by this imaginative and prescient, they spent two years growing the idea, interviewing college students nationwide.
“This work culminated in Fall 2024 with the launch of Black Collegiate Musicians (BCM), a corporation devoted to connecting and uplifting Black music college students nationwide. Black Collegiate Musicians is a testomony to our journeys and the highly effective communities we constructed that proceed to encourage us,“ Burgess continued.
BCM helps present Black music college students entry to monetary, skilled, and psychological well being sources whereas uplifting them via a supportive neighborhood as they navigate larger training.
As well as, Burgess believes that with out the BSU at Eastman, the ladies may not have graduated as a consequence of private challenges, in addition to managing COVID and the homicide of George Floyd, emphasizing how vital it was that they relied on each other as scholar group throughout these instances.
Because the BSU grew, the ladies knew they needed to attach with different Black Pupil Unions however realized that not all have been as seen as theirs.
“Black Collegiate Musicians turned our method of making that visibility. Past offering entry to sources, we need to construct a pipeline for college students to attach—particularly amongst traditionally Black faculties and universities, conservatories, and private and non-private universities,“ Burgess defined.
Burgess shared that the expertise of doing this work collectively together with her fellow Eastman alums has been eye-opening.
“The largest takeaway we’ve had is that college students usually don’t know what sources can be found. Our job at BCM is to search out the instruments that can assist college students succeed and never really feel overwhelmed by the price of this very costly diploma and subject. We discover the sources, after which it’s as much as the scholars to make the most of them,“ she said.
For instance, one in every of Burgess’ greatest life hacks for college students is utilizing Interlibrary Mortgage, which is a service that enables libraries to borrow books, articles, and different sources from different libraries after they don’t have them in their very own assortment.
Prescott shared the way it’s gratifying to see how BCM is making an actual distinction within the college students’ lives the group serves.
“One of the vital fulfilling issues has been watching college students acquire a way of belonging and neighborhood, particularly when they might really feel remoted of their establishments. By means of BCM, we’ve been in a position to create a community the place college students can share their experiences, ask for recommendation, and, maybe most significantly, help one another in ways in which really feel each empowering and sensible,“ Prescott mentioned.
In accordance with Prescott, they’ve acquired overwhelmingly constructive suggestions from college students, with many sharing that BCM has helped them really feel seen and valued, not simply as musicians, however as people navigating the complexities of being a Black artist in a predominantly white subject.
When it comes to profession development, the ladies have seen their college students land scholarships, attend conferences just like the annual Sphinx Convening, and even kind collaborations they might not have in any other case had entry to.
“The community we’ve constructed has opened doorways in ways in which lots of them didn’t assume have been attainable earlier than. It’s additionally given college students the possibility to achieve mentorship from professionals who perceive their distinctive challenges and may supply steerage on all the pieces from auditioning to constructing a sustainable profession,“ Prescott added.
She added that seeing college students transfer ahead, not simply of their music research however of their skilled journeys, has been extremely fulfilling as a result of “It reminds us that what we’re doing isn’t solely about offering sources — it’s about creating a long-lasting influence that helps form the way forward for Black musicians in a method that really uplifts and empowers them.“
Burgess says her most memorable expertise was at our latest SphinxConnect session, Soulful Methods: A Survival Information for Black Collegiate Musicians, a bunch velocity networking session for present college students and up to date graduates (1 to 2 years post-graduation). This session was impressed by the present Ned’s Declassified College Survival Information since each she and Prescott studied Music Schooling, and so they’ve all the time been taught to create a toolkit for our college students to succeed.
“Our mentors have been an eclectic and spectacular group — from Jazz at Lincoln Heart, the Louisiana Symphony Orchestra, professors, my Juilliard colleagues, advertising gurus who work with artists like Coco Jones, doctor assistants, and extra! On the finish of the session, we discovered that it was not solely inspiring for the scholars but in addition extraordinarily impactful for the mentors,“ she continued.
As an area inventive, Burgess additionally mentioned what it means for her to have such an influence on the scholars she works with at BCM.
“I really feel so proud to be of their presence. It’s like being a proud aunty, rooting for everybody! I want I had these sources once I was in faculty. My pals will let you know that I work extraordinarily laborious, however this doesn’t really feel laborious—it appears like my objective. I’ve by no means been caught on one profession path; as a substitute, I all the time say, “God put me on this earth to serve a objective that’s larger than myself.”
Discussing the influence she desires BCM to have on the Black neighborhood, Prescott mentioned, “I need Black college students to have the sources they needn’t solely to get into collegiate musical participation however to foster a lifelong connection to music that feels supportive. I need to see extra Black college students not solely break via limitations to take part in collegiate music packages but in addition really feel empowered to construct lifelong connections with music which can be supportive and affirming of their id.“
She additionally desires the ladies’ work collectively at BCM to be an area the place Black college students thrive academically and creatively and the place they will proceed to develop as artists, educators, and leaders within the music neighborhood. Finally, she hopes their work “helps to foster a way of belonging, encourages collaboration, and opens doorways for future generations of Black musicians.“
Moreover, Burgess desires younger individuals who want to pursue music as a profession to know that: “This metropolis is crammed with prospects, and there’s one thing on the market for you! Attempt one thing new, go to new locations, and step out of your consolation zone.“ Prescott hopes the ladies’ work at BCM conjures up youthful generations to “consider that their desires should not solely attainable however price pursuing.“
Burgess desires her legacy to be one the place folks acknowledge that she cared for folks and really needed everybody to win. “Most significantly, dwelling on this extremely numerous metropolis has jogged my memory that all of us should come collectively and assist each other,“ she mentioned.
Prescott hopes her legacy will pave the best way for Black college students to be uninhibited by the structural limitations which have traditionally stored college students of shade from realizing their fullest potential. “I need to contribute to creating pathways the place these college students can pursue their wildest desires with out limitation,“ she said.
These serious about supporting the longer term work of BCM can donate right here: https://www.every.org/black-collegiate-musician/f/help-us-shape-the-future.
