Returning to the territory for the second year of working with V.I. Lottery officials on a local mentorship program, renowned V.I. musician Dion Parsons spent a sunny Memorial Day afternoon with incoming freshman drummers at Charlotte Amalie High School.
Parsons has been mentoring students in the territory on his own for the past 17 years, going to various public and private schools (along with general music programs) to conduct workshops, clinics and concerts that help the young musicians learn their craft.
The V.I. Lottery program, called "Mentoring through the Art of Music" is an extension of these efforts, Parsons said Monday.
Parsons hooked up with A.C. Burgess, special assistant to the V.I. Lottery director, a few years ago while doing some commercial work. Burgess said the agency needed a "local hero" for some of its spots, and someone suggested Parsons, who got involved and later came up with the idea for the mentorship program while Burgess worked on the funding.
Monday’s mentorship workshop at CAHS was conducted specifically for incoming freshman drummers aspiring to play in the school’s concert and marching band, which is overseen by CAHS Music Director Georgia Francis.
Francis said Monday was the second day of a two-part workshop where the incoming freshmen were becoming acclimated to the music program at CAHS.
"I had some former collegiate students presenting, and low and behold, Dion Parsons called me up on the phone one day and asked if he could help out," said Francis, who was also Parsons’ band director during his senior year at CAHS. "I told him that I have some fresh new drummers, fresh new meat, who are willing to gobble up some instruction."
Francis said she has been reaching out during the year to students at feeder schools, such as Nisky Moravian and Addelita Cancryn, to see who is interested in performing in the CAHS band, what their skill levels are and where she would have to fill in and tutor. Having someone like Parsons on hand makes the process easier, she said.
"Like all teachers, I try to tell my kids to be good at whatever they choose to do, but also to wish for the things they want in life," Francis said. "And for our musicians, I hope they take away the technical expertise they need from this workshop; I hope it helps them open up their minds for future instruction, and I hope they come back willing to commit and be passionate about their craft."
While not a drummer, CAHS 10th-grader Travell Brown was at the school early Monday afternoon to pick up some extra instruction from Parsons. Brown said he is aspiring to be like his cousin, Rashawn Ross, a former CAHS trumpeter who now plays with the likes of the Dave Matthews Band and alongside Parsons in his 21st Century Band.
"I’m learning how to play scales, music theory and how to hit certain notes," Brown said about his time spent in this year’s mentorship program. "And that’s important to me because when you’re trying to be big in music, you’re going to have to learn how to do these kinds of things. It’s also good for improvisation, because you need to learn how to play certain notes to be in certain bands."
Brown said he is inspired that Parsons returns to the territory each year to mentor the students.
"I know that he came from the Virgin Islands and that he is coming back to help us," he said. "I think that’s really good. I still need a little bit more practice myself, but I hope to become a better trumpeter through this, and to get better at marching so I can hopefully get a scholarship."
Burgess said Lottery is able to measure the success of the program by tracking students like Brown as they move through high school and college, and also by looking at how the community responds to what the agency is doing.
"We feel that we have a winner on our hands here, because we have a lot of people in the community that want to be involved," Burgess said. "The response has been overwhelming."
