Rashid Brown, Artistic and Executive Director, Young Artisan Preparatory Orchestra

AfriClassical.com recently received an E-mail from Rashid Brown: “Thank you Mr. Zick, AfriClassical is phenomenal. When I was studying orchestral conducting at Loyola University of New Orleans as a symphonic bassist, this site would have been a major inspiration for me. Black students in classical music were few and under-represented. The awareness of classical music in black culture today is still taboo. My hope is that black culture will embrace and welcome black/African contributions and innovations in classical music and begin to increase our awareness and appreciation for classical arts. Again, thank you for this repertory!”

Asked if he was willing to have his E-mail posted on the blog, Rashid replied: “Hello William, Thank you for your response. Yes you have my permission to post the email on your blog. I will forward my artist profile and some of my projects. I have recently formed the Young Artisan Preparatory Orchestra, which features young black performers in classical, orchestral and symphonic arts combined with black mentor professional artists. My goal is to create advanced technical and pedagogical training opportunities for young black performers in an orchestral setting to experience high-level coaching, enriched masterclasses, and competitive performance as well as student conductorships. My vision is to expose black students in classical music to advanced music pedagogical techniques and studies. Rashid, Artistic and Executive Director, YAPO”