On Saturday and Sunday, June 12-13, the pioneering Mutual Mentorship for Musicians (M³) initiative, co-founded by Jen Shyu and Sara Serpa to foster creative partnerships among woman musicians worldwide, presents six world premieres of collaborative work at a virtual M³ festival via the National Jazz Museum in Harlem.
Hosted by M³ Editor-in-Chief Jordannah Elizabeth, each premiere will be followed by a Q&A with the artists, who will answer questions from the audience about their creative process. Register for these free streaming events here (June 12) and here (June 13).
M³ has also released The Art Of Being True: M³ Anthology of Writings, the first of a rare archive of writing that takes control of the narrative with regard to the work of underrepresented musicians. It is available for free from online literary arts publication, Publik / Private.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK (JUNE 3, 2021) — A second cohort of 12 artists working together as part of the Mutual Mentorship for Musicians (M³) initiative, co-founded by Jen Shyu and Sara Serpa to foster creative partnerships among womxn musicians worldwide, will have their collaborative works premiered at a virtual M³ festival on Saturday, June 12 and Sunday, June 13 at 2:00 p.m. ET via the National Jazz Museum in Harlem. Hosted by M³ Editor-in-Chief Jordannah Elizabeth, each premiere will be followed by a Q&A with the artists, who will answer questions from the audience about their creative process. The performances are streamed via Zoom and may be accessed for free with RSVP. Reserve at JazzMuseumInHarlem.org.
M³ launched in spring 2020 with artists whose work premiered in December 2020. A new winter solstice cohort was selected in December 2020 and have spent the past six months collaborating. The artists taking part in this second cohort whose duo commissions will be premiered in June are:
- Samantha Boshnack – trumpet (Seattle, WA) paired with Fay Victor – voice (Brooklyn, NY)
- Ganavya Doraiswamy– voice/bass (Oregon/New York City) paired with Shanta Nurullah – sitar/mbira/voice (Chicago, IL)
- Miriam Elhajli – voice/guitar (New York City) paired with Chloe Kim – drums/percussion (Australia/Korea)
- Cleo Reed – music producer/artist (Boston/NYC) paired with Richie Seivwright – voice/trombone (London, UK)
- Camila Nebbia – sax/electronics/film (Argentina/Sweden) paired with Monnette Sudler – guitar/voice, secondary bass/drums (Philadelphia, PA)
- Michele Rosewoman – piano/voice (New York City) paired with Malika Zarra – voice (France/ New York City)
Each collaboration marks the first time that the two artists have worked together, reflecting M³’s mission to foster creative growth through new, mutual models of mentorship. With the goal of empowering and elevating womxn musicians around the world—including BIPOC, LGBTQIA2S+, and musicians of all abilities across generations—M³ encourages the reciprocal, intergenerational exchange of knowledge and experience; formation of new collaborations with musicians outside of one’s inner circle; and cultivation of new ideas and formats for solo and collaborative performance, whether live or virtual. M³ meetings and workshops take place over several months and culminate each season in a performance of the newly created collaborative commissions. is supported by a New Music USA Partnership Grant.
M³ released The Art Of Being True: M³ Anthology of Writings, the first of a rare archive of writings that takes control of the narrative with regard to the work of underrepresented musicians, on International Jazz Day, Friday, April 30. It is available from online literary arts publication, Publik / Private, for free.
From essays and poetry on creative expression, composition, mentoring, artistic statements, to personal experiences in music, grief, motherhood, mental health, and fertility treatment, The Art Of Being True: M³ Anthology of Writings reveals an extraordinary inner world that has largely been ignored and diminished in the music field, one in which non-male voices are powerful creators, listeners and critics.
The Art Of Being True: M³ Anthology of Writings aims to expand M³’s mission, by empowering and elevating narratives by musicians of underrepresented gender identities including musicians marginalized on the basis of race, sexuality, or ability. It features contributions by M³’s inaugural Summer Solstice 2020 Cohort’s performer-composers: Romarna Campbell (UK), drums; Caroline Davis (New York), saxophone; Eden Girma, (US / UK), voice, multi-instrumentalist; Val Jeanty (Haiti / New York City), percussion, electronics, turntables; Maya Keren (Philadelphia), piano; Erica Lindsay (Rosendale, NY), tenor sax; Lesley Mok (New York City), drums; Tomeka Reid (Chicago / New York City), cello; Sara Serpa (Portugal / New York City), voice; Jen Shyu (New York City / East Timor), voice, multi-instrumentalist; Anjna Swaminathan (Brooklyn), violin, voice, multi-disciplinary theatre artist; and Sumi Tonooka (Philadelphia), piano.
M³ founders Jen Shyu and Sara Serpa say:
We wanted to create an archive of writings that takes control of the narrative with regards to underrepresented musicians. We envision it as a legacy for future generations in which authorship and power shifts towards woman while de-centering white patriarchy in music.
Jordannah Elizabeth, the founder of Publik / Private and also Mutual Mentorship for Musicians’ Editor-in-Chief, adds:
Women in jazz and creative music fight through the disparity of representation, and it takes bravery to work in such a medium and male-dominated realm. This anthology is a testament that art must prevail within the prison of others’ perceptions.
For more information about the M³ model, see the original announcement of the project, as well as MutualMentorshipForMusicians.
The inaugural cohort commissions and anthology are supported by Nancy and Joe Walker and mediaThe foundation. The Winter Solstice 2020 Cohort is supported by New Music USA, made possible by annual program support and/or endowment gifts from Helen F. Whitaker Fund, The Aaron Copland Fund for Music, Inc., The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, Francis Goelet Charitable Lead Trusts, Fidelity Foundation, The Rogers & Hammerstein Foundation, Anonymous.
About Jen Shyu (co-founder)
Guggenheim Fellow, USA Fellow, Doris Duke Artist, multilingual vocalist, composer, multi-instrumentalist, and dancer Jen Shyu is “one of the most creative vocalists in contemporary improvised music” (The Nation). Born in Peoria, Illinois, to Taiwanese and East Timorese immigrants and the first female and vocalist bandleader on Pi Recordings, she has produced seven albums; performed at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art; and is a Fulbright scholar who speaks ten languages. Her Song of Silver Geese was among The New York Times’ “Best Albums of 2017.” One of Ms. Shyu’s ongoing projects is a tour of her solo ZERO GRASSES (commissioned by John Zorn) across all 50 states. She is also a Paul Simon Music Fellows Guest Artist and a Steinway Artist. For more information, visit JenShyu.com.
About Sara Serpa (co-founder)
A native of Lisboa, Portuguese Sara Serpa is a singer, composer, and improviser, who through her practice and performance, explores the use of the voice as an instrument, working in the field of jazz, improvised, and experimental music since moving to New York in 2008. Literature, film, visual arts, nature, and history inspire Ms. Serpa in the creative process and development of her music. Described by The New York Times as “a singer of silvery poise and cosmopolitan outlook,” and by JazzTimes magazine as “a master of wordless landscapes,” Ms. Serpa started her recording and performing career with jazz luminaries such as Grammy-nominated pianist Danilo Perez, Guggenheim and MacArthur Fellow pianist Ran Blake, and saxophonist Greg Osby. For more information, visit SaraSerpa.com.
About Jordannah Elizabeth (Editor-in-Chief)
Jordannah Elizabeth is an author, music critic, editor, lecturer, and essayist. She is a music and entertainment journalist at the historical Black newspaper New York Amsterdam News and her work has appeared in NPR Music, Village Voice, DownBeat, and many other reputable publications. She has lectured and received invitations as a guest journalist from Harvard University, Pratt Institute, Maryland Institute College of Art, and De Montfort University in Leicester, England. She is the author of Don’t Lose Track, The Warmest Low and the upcoming book, She Raised Her Voice!: 50 Black Women Who Sang Their Way Into Music History. For more information, visit JEwriting.com.
Presented by the National Jazz Museum in Harlem
Six world-premiere M³ commissions— created by pairs of womxn musicians and streamed via Zoom
Jordannah Elizabeth, host and M³ Editor-in-Chief
Works by:
- Michele Rosewoman – piano/voice + Malika Zarra – voice
- Camila Nebbia – sax/electronics/film + Monnette Sudler – guitar/voice, secondary bass/drums
- Ganavya Doraiswamy – voice/bass + Shanta Nurullah – sitar/mbira/voice
Works by:
- Cleo Reed – music producer/artist + Richie Seivwright – voice/trombone
- Miriam Elhajli – voice/guitar + Chloe Kim – drums/percussion
- Samantha Boshnack – trumpet + Fay Victor – voice
Photo credits:
Cleo Reed – Photo by Cressida Fletcher
Michele Rosewoman – Photo by Chris Drukker
Malika Zarra – Photo by Sandrine Lee
Fay Victor – Photo by Kyra Kverno
Ganavya Iyer Doraiswamy – Photo by Katya Krishnan
Shanta Nurullah – Photo by Tony Smith
Monnette Sudler – Photo by Michael Donnella
Richie Seivwright – Photo by Malini Vaja
Samantha Boshnack – Photo by Karen Sterling
Chloe Kim – Photo by Esther Wong
Miriam Elhajli – Photo by Liz Maney
Camila Nebbia – Photo by Celeste Rojas Mugica