Help me go to jazz grad school in New Orleans

Hello, I’m Alexa Torres Skillicorn.  This is my story.  Thank you for taking a little time out of your day to read it. 
 
BACKSTORY

I’ve played violin since I was a 5 years old.


But,  when it came time to choose a career I went a different route. My final year of college it struck me that this was a huge mistake.  My real passion has always been and always will be music. For a musician, this is a very late moment to have this revelation and I had a gut-wrenching feeling that maybe it was too late for me to realize my dream.  Compounding this revelation was the understanding that the western classical world I had been immersed in as a child was not mine. I was drawn toward more eclectic musical paradigms. 

Nevertheless, despite, my lack of formal training, I decided to give music a shot. I felt that I would regret it for the rest of my life if I didn’t. After graduating with a non-music related degree, I moved to Santiago, Chile, where I have been working as a freelance musician for the past three years. Here, I perform regularly at venues, jazz clubs, hotels, theaters and private events in addition to teaching. In Santiago, I created a context in which I was able to support myself solely from music! I was fortunate to play with many skilled musicians including several with backgrounds spanning a diverse array of the jazz sub-genres.  





 


Here is a video of something I worked  on with some Santiago-based musician in case you want to check it out!



 I realized that jazz was what I too wanted to specialize in — the genre which could give me the expressive tools I need as I continue to work towards cultivating a musical language that is distinctly my own yet also reflective of tradition and history in a unique way.

As my musical exposure increased in Chile, I became more and more aware of how those missing four years of training manifest in my playing. I began to understand that I was lacking technical, theoretical, and harmonic preparation that would be almost impossible to acquire without more formal training. Recently, I received wonderful news from the University of New Orleans that, even though my undergraduate degree is not music related, I have been accepted into their jazz studies graduate school! I am very excited to be embarked on a path that will give me the formal training  to become who I want to be:  a jazz performer, teacher,  mentor . . . and, perhaps more importantly, advocate.

Coming  back to earth, I soon realized that funding my studies presents some serious challenges. Since my bachelor’s degree is not in music, I must remediate several classes. While doing so, I will be classified as a “non-degree seeking graduate student”  and be ineligible to receive ANY financial aid -- including federal loans and independent scholarships.  


COSTS

I had been counting on receiving federal loans to be able to fund my studies and support myself.  Three years in Chile have left nothing in the bank. One semester of out of state tuition at UNO is approximately 7,000 dollars, and room and board in a modest place in New Orleans will run around 800 dollars a month. 


HOW YOU CAN HELP

This is my first time using a crowd-funding platform, and I admit it is not a tool I ever imagined myself utilizing. However, I am committed to doing everything within my power to achieve my goal of attending jazz graduate school and this campaign is currently my ONLY chance of raising the necessary funds by fall 2019. I need your help in order to take this important step towards growing as a musician! Donations  of any amount are deeply appreciated!! I also appreciate if you would help share the  campaign, which you can do by clicking on the link at the beginning of the post. 

In addition to growing personally as a musician, one of my fundamental goals is to continue using music to better the world around me. As a small step in that direction, during my studies I pledge to give free regular classes to 5 children who demonstrate need. 

For donations of 150 dollars or more, I will send a personalized video and song to you or a friend! You can choose from a list of songs (including happy birthday) and I can read a personalized message that you write to the recipient. 

For donations of 500 dollars or more I will play at any event in the Austin or surrounding area. Contact me for a list of repertoire! 

Thank you for taking the time  to read this and for helping me achieve my goals. 


Lots of love,

Alexa