Report To The Community 2021

Michaela Jaé Rodriguez
our shining stars
We’re so proud of the work NJPAC arts education alumni
are doing in a range of artistic fields. We connected with a
few of them for an update on their current projects — and
to ask how NJPAC shaped the artists they’ve become.
Lusine “Lucy” Yeghiazaryan.
Lucy, a rising jazz vocalist
and arranger, has received a
grant from the Women’s Fund
of NYC for a project entitled
In Her Words with vocalist
Vanisha Gould. The piece will
be performed at Caramoor
Jazz Fest in summer 2022, and
the recording of In Her Words
was ranked #20 among vocal
albums of the year in the 16th
Annual Jazz Critics Poll.
“I’ve often talked about how
instrumental Jazz For Teens
was for me, because it gave
me an opportunity to work
with a solid rhythm section
long before most singers get a
chance in the real arena. This
gave me the confidence and
strength that I think audiences
appreciate in me today. I think
this more than anything was
extremely helpful for me as a
young musician.” — Lucy
Daryl L. Stewart. An actor,
director, producer and educator,
Daryl is currently developing
a new performance series
called Broadway in the Bricks
in partnership with the Newark
Museum of Art and Newark
Arts, and is developing and
directing a new Black musical,
Step Show, that celebrates the
rich legacy of African American
step dance, in partnership with
MASS MoCA. He also recently
received a New Jersey Education
Association Award of Excellence.
In the past, he’s also worked
as a teaching artist at NJPAC.
“NJPAC’s impact on my life
as an artist and individual
is undeniable. I remain
connected to an incredible
roster of artists, scholars,
educators, community
leaders, thinkers and doers
who represent the diverse
and expansive history of
NJPAC. Some of the senior
staff members have literally
watched me grow up from
anxious adolescent artist
to award-winning artist
and educator.” — Daryl
Alex Wintz. Alex is a jazz
guitarist and teacher who
performs with multiple groups
and ensembles, including the
Terraza Seven Big Band; he was
nominated for a 2020 GRAMMY®
Award for his work with Terraza.
Last year, Alex released his latest
album, Alex Wintz Trio: Live to
Tape, and continued to perform
at top venues across New York
and New Jersey. Additionally,
he now teaches guitarists in
the Jazz for Teens program.
“One of the things I always
try to impart to my current
students is that you benefit
by being challenged by your
peers. The more you do that,
the better you’re going to
become…and if you seek out
programs like Jazz for Teens,
you get a taste of what other
people sound like, which is
both humbling and inspiring.
When I first came to NJPAC, I
thought I was pretty good for
my age, but there were kids a
few years older than me who
knew all these tunes by Parker
and Ellington. That really
pushed me to keep working.”
— Alex
Ricky Persaud. Ricky, a guitarist
and vocalist, is currently working
on his ninth studio album,
which will be released in June
2022. He’s also preparing for a
performance at Carnegie Hall.
But his biggest milestone, he says,
was that he graduated Summa
cum laude from the Berklee
College of Music in June 2021.
“When I first started the
various programs at NJPAC
(like Jazz For Teens and various
songwriting courses), I barely
understood music theory.
But by the time I finished those
programs, my understanding
of music theory was so
good that I aced my Berklee
College of Music audition and
was awarded a full four-year
scholarship. Also, I felt my
songwriting, composition
and playing skills improved
dramatically while attending
NJPAC...I [was able] to
apply what I learned to
other musical mediums of my
choosing.” — Ricky
Other alumni highlights:
Composer, conductor and multiinstrumentalist
Tyshawn Sorey,
a Jazz for Teens alumni, won a
MacArthur “Genius” Award in
2017, and has been lauded for
his compositions that bridge
classical music and jazz. In
February 2022, he debuted a
new piece, Monochromatic Light
(Afterlife), commissioned by the
Rothko Chapel in Houston.
Actress and singer Michaela
Jaé Rodriguez has starred for
years in the FX television series
Pose. In 2021, she became the
first transgender woman to be
nominated for an Emmy Award in
a major acting category for her
work on the show. The role also
won her the Golden Globe for Best
Actress in a Television Drama.
Stage and screen star Okieriete
Onaodowan, famed for his role
in the original Broadway cast
of Hamilton, closed 2021 with
a bang, as his character on the
Shonda Rhimes drama Station 19
perished in an explosion.
His casting in the fourth season
of Jack Ryan was announced
shortly thereafter. •
Lusine “Lucy” Yeghiazaryan
Daryl L. Stewart
Alex Wintz
Ricky Persaud
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