The 369th Experience

Our Juneteenth 2022 programming was a huge success. Our band participated in 5 master classes led by leading musicians and scholars, and performed at numerous locations, including the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, at the French Ambassador's residence, opened for Jon Batiste at The Something In The Water Festival and at the World War I Memorial location. These links highlight our Juneteenth 2022 programming and give a closer look at what our program offers these students. LINKS: Doughboy Foundation Highlight Reel - https://youtu.be/kcRHx4JH-JM Juneteenth Weekly Overview - https://youtu.be/RLaX236bYrs Juneteenth Highlight Video https://youtu.be/Ktf3Ppyu_T8. The 369th Experience band was selected as the Community Partners with the John F. Kennedy Performing Arts Center. This partnership allowed us to be the artists in residence., which included 5 master classes with scholars, musicians and historians, rehearsal space in the state-of-the-art facility REACH and a performance on Millennium Stage. Master classes included: Christian McBride (virtual), Jason Moran, Bobby Sanabria, Mercedes Ellington, The Golden Gate Quartet (from Paris, France) and Sean Jones. Our panel discussions included: Robert Levi (Moderator), Independent writer, director, producer, and cinematographer. In 2008, "Billy Strayhorn: Lush Life" became the first film in history to receive three important awards in one year: the Best Documentary Emmy, a Peabody Award for Broadcast Excellence, and the Writers Guild Award for Best Doc Screenplay; Bobby Sanabria a 7-time Grammy nominated bandleader, drummer, percussionist, composer, arranger, educator, multicultural warrior, and Co-Artistic Director of the Bronx Music Heritage Center. A noted educator and clinician, Mr. Sanabria is a faculty member in the Jazz Department at New York University and the School of Jazz and Contemporary Music at the New School. He is a leader in the Afro-Cuban, Brazilian and jazz fields as both a drummer and percussionist and is recognized as one of the most respected musician-scholars of la tradition living today; Elena Martinez the Co-Artistic Director of the Bronx Music Heritage Center a gallery and performance space which presents programs celebrating the Bronx's musical and artistic legacy. A current project involves researching the Afro-Puerto Rican participation in the 369th Regimental Band (the "Harlem Hellfighters") during WWI. She has been working with the 369th Regimental Historical Society and the World War I Centennial Commemoration "369th Experience" to archive the music sheets from the Historical Society and received a 2015 LARAS (Latin Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences) grant to aid in their preservation; Lieutenant Colonel Dr. Dwayne Milburn, Retired Commissioned Officer in the U.S. Army Music Program Lecturer: Composition and Conducting. Teaching composition, orchestration and conducting at UCLA. Music Director for the Parish of St. Matthew & The St. Matthews Chamber Orchestra in Pacific Palisades, California; Anthony (Tony) Hollinger, Past Commander of The American Legion (TAL) DC "James Reese Europe" - Post #5 USMC Officer Veteran - Graduate of The US Naval Academy & Harvard's Business School & served in Operations Desert Shield & Storm; Dr. John H. Morrow, Jr., a Franklin Professor of History at The University of Georgia; Dr. Jeffrey T. Sammons, Professor of History at New York University. Drs John Morrow and Jeffrey Sammons have written the premier book highlighting the African American experience in World War I: Harlem Rattlers and the Great War: The Undaunted 369th Regiment and the African American Quest for Equality; CPT Richard Viglucci, Associate Conductor with The U.S. Army Band, "Pershing's Own". He holds a Bachelor of Music in Clarinet Performance from SUNY Potsdam's Crane School of music, a Master of Music in Clarinet Performance from Northwestern University, A Master of Music in Conducting from Northern Arizona University and a Doctorate of Musical Arts in Clarinet Performance from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln; Public performances included a symbolic march from the White House to the WWI Memorial site and Pershing's Park with the President's Own Marine Corp band, a special performance at French Ambassador Phillip Etienne's residence and opening for Jon Batiste at the Something In The Water festival.