As a black male in the classical arts, I’ve often felt swamped in a sea of whiteness. Until I got to college, I never met any peer who looked like me singing classical music/opera. Even in college, however, I still feel overwhelmed because of the lack of a POC community. With my musical abilities, I hope to create an outreach to POC communities around the globe and get a resurgence of minority classical singers. I hope to be an inspiration to little black boys growing up wanting to sing.

Hands down, Luther Vandross is my biggest inspiration. His light, lyric tenor voice always rang throughout my household whenever my mom was listening to anything other than Gospel Music. His voice is so unique; the mastery of his passagios is uncontested. No other R&B singer — or singer in general — will ever come close to what he’s able to do. Although I’m studying classical voice, I hope that I, too, can touch someone as Vandross touched me in my youth. I spend countless hours perfecting my craft. I hope I can leave a legacy like he did.