Our Achievements
I feel grateful that music creation and appreciation have always been very prominent components of my life. Ever since I started channeling my musicality through dance at three years old, I have not been able to let it go. I have performed on many stages and convention centers in Panama, which in turn have provided me with the ability to find my true self, connect with different people, and receive a great deal of instruction and feedback from some of Panama’s greatest musicians. Despite being in my teenage years, these experiences have afforded me vast opportunities to compose, record and co-produce original songs that have been released on all music platforms under my name; “Alessandra Clarke”.
My continued search for musical development, outlets and communities that align and share my appreciation for the arts lead me to various musical projects and academic opportunities. During the COVID-19 lockdown in the Republic of Panama, I held a virtual concert in which I streamed a pre-recorded concert from my home. With the help of professionals, this was a full simulation of a live concert complete with live singing of the songs from my first EP titled “Be Somebody”, costume changes, beautiful backdrops and quality sound. People from different parts of the world tuned into my YouTube channel to watch the concert making it one of my biggest musical successes.
Aside from this success, other successes came in the form of receiving full scholarships to attend prestigious programs at universities such as American Music and Drama Academy (AMDA) in 2021 and the Clive Davis Institute at New York University in 2022 all while indulging in vocal training within the Academia de Música de Panamá (2017-2022) and the Fundación Danilo Peréz (2020-present).
Due to the fact that I strive to gain real life experiences by learning from participating in musically enhancing academic opportunities as well as professionals and students in the field, I am blessed to admit that I excel both academically, musically and artistically. In 2021 and 2022, I participated in a global musical competition hosted by Nord Anglia and was awarded the Musician of the Year award for both of my participations. This is particularly important to me especially because most of the judges are professors from the Juilliard School.
My hunger to broaden my knowledge through the footsteps of mentors has led me to the biggest, most important, musical achievement of my life thus far; Las Hijas del Jazz. Las Hijas del Jazz is the first all-female big band in the history of the Republic of Panama and is led by world renowned saxophonist, Ms. Patricia Zarate. Sharing a space and music with women and girls of such caliber was already the greatest honor, but performing alongside them in January 2023 at the 20th anniversary of the Panama Jazz Festival was otherworldly.
During the seven days of the festival, I was able to learn techniques from mentors such as Prof. Danilo Perez, Ms. Catherine Russell, Ms. Idiania Downman, Ms. Farayi Malek and others.
I am beyond grateful that I was presented with this surreal opportunity, and I made sure to take full advantage of it. To have been able to connect with other musicians from different parts of the world with different dialects, through the unifying language of Jazz; is a phenomenon indescribable with words. The 20th Panama Jazz Festival was the first time that I felt in every fiber of my body, the truth behind the words of Mr. DiMuzio’s when he said that music is “one of God's finest gifts to us”.
My desire to constantly acquire and apply new knowledge has kept me exceeding academically my whole life. For every year in school I have received honor roll recognition, maintained a GPA above 4.3 and more recently, I have been inducted into the prestigious global network that is the National Honor Society. It is my belief that these achievements have helped me learn a very important life skill which is teamwork. I have applied this value to collaborate and release original music, engage in musical theatre productions, become a member of an historic jazz ensemble, participate in numerous academic activities, and fulfill personal and academic social service obligations.
One of my most memorable academic and musical achievements was when I directed, choreographed, costumed, designed and arranged the music for my sixth grade class’ performance in honor of Ms. Diana Ross. During that time, it was the most difficult project that I had ever done and it continues to be one of my proudest moments. For my dedication to the project, I was awarded a special recognition award for helping my class produce an outstanding performance.
It is very important for me to try and include music in everything that I do, as I believe that it has healing properties not only for musicians but for listeners as well. As a result of this belief, I was chosen to be one of the head-organizers for a musical fundraiser alongside the rest of my schools’ NHS members. Our goal is to invite local artists (including myself) to donate their time and talent for brief 15-minute performances, in which NHS will be selling tickets and food. The money collected will be donated to the Fundación Danilo Peréz so that underprivileged children and teenagers can pursue their musical passions and study with a world-class faculty. This event titled “International Day” will take place on April 11th, 2023 at my school located in Panama City, Republic of Panama.
As a young Afro-Panamanian and African American girl, it is very important for me to constantly reflect on the successes as well as the challenges that I have reached thanks to the support of the community around me. There are many young people like me praying for the same support and opportunities that I have. Because of this, my mission is to share everything that I learn wherever I go with whoever wants to listen. If they want to but can not financially, emotionally, cognitively or physically afford to go to world class institutions like Berklee College of Music, my dream is to be part of the bridge to help get them there.
I conclude this essay by once again stating my eternal gratitude to the mentors that have gotten me to where I am and to where I am destined to be. I agree with my mother when she has said to me, “it is not about you Alessandra”. It is about the people that will benefit from the communal creation of my musical identity that I define as an entrancing fusion of African American genres that include Jazz, Soul, Neo-Soul, R&B and Hip-Hop with Afro-Caribbean rhythms such as salsa, dembow, reggae, and traditional Panamanian music. It is greater than me, and it will always be and I accept that I am one of the vessels that has been chosen to relay this message.