BTAR – UniSound

UniSound announces next Beckom-Freeman Teaching Artists-in-Residence

UniSound announces next Beckom-Freeman Teaching Artists-in-Residence: Clara Kent and Jason Washington PITTSBURGH – UniSound has selected Clara Kent and Jason Washington as its Season 5 Beckom-Freeman Teaching Artists-in-Residence. Kent is an Afro-Indigenous (Oglala Lakota & Ojibwe) multidisciplinary artist, entrepreneur, and community leader from Pittsburgh’s Homewood community. In 2022, she began hosting a radio show on […]

Collective Impact in Action: Teaching Artists Build and Sustain the Future

UniSound’s Beckom-Freeman Teaching Artist-in-Residence (BTAR) alumni and BTAR Fellows don’t just create musical opportunities as performers. As teachers and mentors, they build community and maximize impact across music education, community engagement, and organizational synergies. Former BTAR Yusef Shelton “YS1” (’23-24) continues to mentor students across schools and youth-delinquent systems by teaching emotional intelligence, purpose discovery, […]

Synergies Returns to Heinz Hall

ACT3 Consulting Partners, UniSound, and the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra (PSO) presented the second annual “Synergies” event, an unforgettable evening honoring Pittsburgh’s Black musical talent and innovators. This special gathering is dedicated to celebrating the achievements of Black musicians and teaching artists, with a spotlight on UniSound’s Beckom-Freeman Teaching Artist-in-Residence (BTAR) recipients, BTAR alumni, and PSO’s […]

Omari I. Abdul-Alim Highlighted in New Documentary

UniSound’s inaugural Black Teaching Artist-in-Residence Fellow Omari I. Abdul-Alim stars in a new documentary from WHRO Public Media entitled, “Virginia Symphony Orchestra Fellows: Orchestrating Change.” WHRO followed four amazing young musicians on their year long journey as VSO Fellows. The program was created to give underrepresented orchestral musicians the experiences they’ll need to succeed. The […]

Anyah Nancy Presents: A Nina Simone Tribute

In 2023, I had the honor of participating in the SCALE Fellowship Program: A Program for Black Women in Music, hosted by the Equity Impact Center. This incredible opportunity supported me in bringing my Nina Simone Tribute to life. Nina Simone’s music has been a part of my journey since childhood, sparking my love for […]

An Artists Identity

Who is Anyah? Great question! To be honest, I’m still figuring that out myself. I know what my bio says, and I have an idea of how my friends would describe me. When I open my Bible, I can read about who God says I am, and while all these perspectives about “Anyah” hold truth, […]

Announcing the Release of the 2022-23 BTAR Cohort’s New Single “They Say”

UniSound is thrilled to announce the release of the 2022-23 BTAR cohort’s single, “They Say,” now available on both Bandcamp and SoundCloud! This new track was the final project for the 2022-23 cohort’s residency, showcasing their evolving sound and lyrical depth. About “They Say” “They Say” is a captivating blend of melodic hooks, thought-provoking lyrics, […]

Putting On – Yusef Shelton

2023-24 Black Teaching Artist-in-Residence, Yusef Shelton Da First shares a new original song “Putting On”.

Meet the 2023-24 BTARs

This December, UniSound launches the fourth round of its Black Teaching Artist-in-Residence program (BTAR), an initiative to support the music practice and professional development of Black teaching artists in Greater Pittsburgh. Starting the first week of December and lasting nine months, the residencies have been awarded to Anqwenique Kinsel and Yusef Shelton.    UniSound is […]

If You Don’t Ask…

I’ll take this opportunity to tell the world about my paternal grandmother, my nana Edna. I spent many of my formative years stuck to her hip. She was my summer child care and as the matriarch of our family, her home was “Grand Central Station”. While many conversations and memories with her stick out as […]

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