We are here at The Circuit event space here at Destination Sistrunk.

But Portia, I know that you are not from this area.

You are from Miami Overtown, born to Bahamian parents, Haitian descent.

Tell me about growing up in Miami.

Growing up in Miami was wild during the '80s and the '90s, I actually loved my community.

I grew up in Overtown, 6th Street, 6th Avenue.

My mom is Bahamian, my dad is Haitian.

We went to The Bahamas very often, especially during the summers to visit the family.

And I spent a lot of time with my Haitian family as well.

So I have those, that blend of the Caribbean, that's a part of my upbringing.

Awesome.

Are there any specific memories of growing up in Miami that stick out to you from your youth?

It was just being outside, playing with my friends in the neighborhood.

We had this one kid, I remember his name was Percy, and he like was developmentally delayed and we'll get into why this part is important.

And he was never ostracized.

He was a big part of our neighborhood kid gang, we all played together.

We made space for him, we made room for him.

And no one ever really used his disability or his ability to not just kind of play like the rest of the kids against him.

We all like, it was a neighborhood gang of kids if you think of like Fat Albert and the Junkyard Gang.

Okay, cool, hey, hey, hey, hey.

Hey, hey, hey.

Yeah, so no, I think a lot of us had Percys in our lives, right?

There there were kids that we just embraced and brought in.

So with that, you as a kid doing your thing with your group of Ragamuffin kids on the street, right, how did you get connected to or find music?

So my mom would always tell me that she studied piano and she played the saxophone when she was younger, but she quit because her teacher tried to make her read music.

And there was some disconnect for her right there.

And so she always wanted to play.

And she was glad that when I showed interest in anything, she would just always support it.

When I was in elementary school, I had this teacher, Mr. McKay, a music teacher.

I love music, my favorite subject.

They started a string program at the school during my fifth grade year.

And I wanted to be a part of it, but unfortunately I couldn't because they had already assigned all the instruments.

And so the next year though, because I was a kid like a dog with a bone, I came back and I asked him if I could play the violin.

He was like, "Well, we don't have anymore violins left, but there's this one instrument."

And it was a bass, it was like laying on top of a shelf.

And that's how I started playing the bass.

[Darius] And at that point the bass was bigger than you were.

[Portia] It was much bigger than me.

Yes, yeah, definitely.

[Darius] So in your household, you say your mom was a musician at heart.

Was there music in the house often?

Yeah, definitely.

Like, we had a record player that played and my mom, my mom always had the radio on.

We would listen, like we grew up in the like traditional gospel kind of Christian home and she would have 1490 WMBM, Victor T. Curry playing on the radio all the time.

We had a collection of soul records, but it got played when she wasn't there.

And then also she bought us like kid records songs that we would sing like in nursing school and stuff.

Well, tell us more about Teeny Violini and your efforts to expose young people to music.

So Teeny Violini initially, and remember I had mentioned Percy earlier, when I first came up with the idea to teach kids music or to incorporate music, I was really trying to figure out what I wanted to do with my life.

And I was inspired by my nephew Dallas, who was developmentally delayed, when he was born he was beautiful, normal kid, and then developed these lesions on his brain.

And so it caused him to regress.

And I say that, because he became, he reminded me of Percy a lot in a lot of ways.

And my interaction and my being with him during the summers when I would watch him, was an inspiration for why I thought about Teeny Violini, why I wanted to make it this program, not just for our kids, but build it in a way that is accessible for all young learners.

And so I started the idea with that and years later came, moved down to Miami 'cause I was living in Tallahassee at the time, and I saw that there was a gap in learning for the students that were a part of the music program that I taught at, I taught a Miami music program and it was really, it was always a rough start for the kindergartners, for the first graders.

And so my idea, my thought was, okay, our kids need definitely more representation.

They need to see more of us, but they also need more high-quality engagement in music and what better place to start than with a bunch of beautifully like energetic early learners.

You mentioned earlier about, with Teeny Violini, about the importance of representation.

So I know with New Canon Chamber Collective, that is a major part of what you do and what you're trying to bring to the space in regards to classical music.

So please tell us more about that.

Yeah, so New Canon Chamber Collective is a South Florida-based ensemble that amplifies the voices of Black and Brown composers in the classical music genre.

And it also allows a space for Black and Brown musicians in our community to play together, curate music together, and just be in community with each other.

So tell us, but why is that important?

It's important because these spaces don't really exist down here.

The talent is here, the ability, the musicians, the drive are all here.

They're all here in the space, but the opportunities are few.

And you know, it's unfortunate, it's sad that we have to fight a lot to be seen and to be heard and to be valued as musicians, as artists equal to our non-Black counterparts.

So this is why New Canon is important because it's specifically a space where we're saying Black and Brown people, you are amplified, you're elevated.

This is for us, not excluding anyone, this is like, we're definitely counting you in.

I can just say from my perspective, being around and seeing New Canon, it was very refreshing the first time I was to sit and see an orchestra full of Black and Brown people.

Something that I hadn't really experienced in my life, especially here in South Florida.

So to know that so many amazing artists are here and you are working to help elevate and give them space is beautiful.

Thank you, I appreciate that.

I mean, that's been my experience as well.

Like as a bass player, as a Black woman bass player when growing up learning this instrument, being in this industry, very, very few, now you see us a lot more because of the social media and then just people are just getting out more.

But before there were not, it was very common for all of us Black musicians to have the same experience that we were either one or two of that we were just one of three in an ensemble.

And so the common feedback that I get is, "This is so awesome."

Rehearsals end at 9:30, they're still there to 10:30 in the parking lot.

They're kicking us out of the venue, "All right, y'all don't gotta go home, but you gotta, come on, y'all."

But it is just that type of comradery, that kind of community.

It's needed.

And like you said, the way you felt when you came there, it's the same thing for everyone.

It's awesome.

Tell us more about, as a musician, so as a theater artist and writer, I think for me, connecting with other writers that we can communicate in that same language.

For the musicians that are part of the collective, right, what has been their kind of feedback in regards to like finding these people?

Oh, listen, one of the common things I've heard like non-Black people was just like, "Oh, where are the Black musicians?"

So for me, finding my community was important, right?

And then connecting my community, the biggest joy for me is when I put together any iteration of New Canon, whether it's big or small, and there's someone new, and then I'm like, "Oh, you know, such and such.

Have you met this?"

And I'm like, "No, I didn't even know you were here."

Like, that's part of the value of the group of what we're doing, is that people are meeting each other and so they're hiring each other for gigs, they're playing and collaborating with each other.

Like these musicians are thought of first among the musicians in the collective.

Yeah, absolutely.

So then what has been the feedback from the community when you roll up with 45 Black and Brown?

You know, it's been beautiful.

Everybody's excited.

They love the energy, it's just, "Wow, thank you."

It's always a sense of gratitude.

"Thank you for this.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Wow.

This was amazing.

When is the next one?

When is the next one?

When is the next one?"

You know, it's always that.

Okay, so when is the next one?

Like what's next?

What's happening for New Canon?

So what's happening for New Canon, a few things are in the pipes, in the works, but in June, again, and we collaborate on this, we're gonna be doing our show, bringing back "Remember the Times," which is a celebration of Black sitcoms throughout the '70s, '80s, and the '90s.

And we're actually adding some new flavor to that show as well.

Oh, cool.

Well it was fun last time, so I'm sure it'll be fun this time.

And anything, any big vision things happening down the pike for New Canon Chamber?

New Canon Chamber Collective, well, one is, we're also, two things.

We're working on a collaborative venture where we're gonna be putting out a recording soon.

That's one thing.

So we're fundraising for that.

And the other thing is the grant that the partnership that we're working on, what I'm really looking forward to with Art Prevails Project, Storied, right?

And the reason why I'm looking forward to that particular project is because we're amplifying new voices.

We're giving a space for new works to be presented and for artists to be immersed in communities and tell the stories of those communities.

So that one is definitely one big project that I'm looking forward to.

I am looking forward to that one too, yes.

So thank you so much, Portia, for hanging out with us today and telling us all about New Cannon Chamber Collective, Teeny Violini, your amazing story.

You are truly, truly an inspiration.

Oh, thank you, I appreciate that.

Thank you for having me.