Nine young performers — a rapper who plays piano, a classical guitarist, a cellist, and singers spanning jazz, R&B, spoken word, and alternative pop — will share a stage Sunday afternoon at Alkebulan Cultural Arts Center in Northwest Pasadena.
The showcase, titled “You Don’t Know Me…Yet!,” is organized by Clazzical Notes, the Pasadena-based nonprofit that has staged cross-genre music programs since 2004. Several of the performers have Pasadena ties: two attend Pasadena City College, one is enrolled at the Los Angeles College of Music in Pasadena, and two are 11th graders at Pasadena Unified School District campuses — John Muir High School and Thurgood Marshall Secondary School, according to a press release from the organization.
The program will feature music, spoken word, piano performance, and storytelling, according to Clazzical Notes founder and Executive-Artistic Director Jerri Price-Gaines.
The nine performers, as listed in the organization’s press release, are: Christian McKinley, a pianist and rapper in 11th grade at Hamilton High School in Culver City; Jocelyn Segura, a 17-year-old spoken word artist at St. Mary’s Academy in Inglewood; Javier Pérez, a classical guitarist at Pasadena City College; La Niece Grant, a jazz, soul, and R&B singer at Pasadena City College; Saida, an alternative pop and indie folk singer at the California School of the Arts – San Gabriel Valley; Arman Thoresen, a cellist and third-year student at UC Irvine; Brighton Thomas, a singer at the Los Angeles College of Music; Jaxon March, a singer in 11th grade at John Muir High School in Pasadena; and Lyric Mims, a singer in 11th grade at Thurgood Marshall Secondary School in Pasadena.
“This program aims to evoke a wide range of emotions in its audience members witnessing the talent of these young performers,” Price-Gaines said in the press release.
Clazzical Notes is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that stages music programs with three stated goals: engaging audiences through live performance, educating them about ethnic history and musical genres, and fostering interaction between performers and audiences, according to the organization’s website. Price-Gaines, who holds an MBA, founded the program in 2004 after serving as the inaugural Director of Education and Community Engagement for the Pasadena Symphony starting in 1998. She has served as chairperson of the Pasadena Arts and Culture Commission and the Pasadena Arts Council, and as grants chair on the board of the Pasadena Tournament of Roses Foundation.
The event takes place at Alkebulan Cultural Arts Center, 1435 N. Raymond Ave., Pasadena, CA 91103. The venue, housed in a historical Pasadena firehouse in the city’s northwest corridor, is a community-based nonprofit cultural center focused on African and African American heritage. The program begins at 4 p.m. Admission is $20 per person, $10 for students with ID. Children 12 and under are admitted free. For more information, contact Price-Gaines at clazznotes@gmail.com or 626-833-2750, or visit www.clazzicalnotes.org.
The February 15 showcase is the latest in a series of programs Clazzical Notes has staged at the Alkebulan center, which has hosted the organization’s events in previous years. Price-Gaines has described her broader goal as working to “bring people together from diverse backgrounds” through music, according to a profile published by the Pasadena Village.
