New Voices

New Voices

Alysa Ain is a jazz singer based in Washington, D.C., whose love for the Great American Songbook is rooted in a childhood spent singing Gershwin and Richard Rodgers with her mother at the piano. Her vocal influences include - among many! - Ella Fitzgerald, Carmen McRae, Wesla Whitfield, and contemporaries such as Cécile McLorin Salvant and Sara Serpa. Alysa studies voice with Marisa Michelson and is an apprentice in Vocal De-Armoring, a somatic, process-oriented  approach to vocal pedagogy. In addition to jazz, Alysa sings classical music and practices experimental vocal improvisation, and is a classically trained violist.

My name is Dash Garcia I’m currently a rising sophomore at Howard University with a major in music performance. I’ve been singing for about 5 years now but I actually started singing jazz my senior year of high school. Though jazz is a genre I really enjoy singing, I’m not closed off to other kinds of genres. As my musical journey has been grown, I would like to start networking more with other musicians as well as gigging and possibly recording professionally. I love singing because of the joy it brings me and the joy that it can even bring others. There has been many instances where music has brought a person comfort and happiness and because of this, I want to be able to use my gift for them. I and look forward to doing it more and more.

Pearlie Lynn Rose is returning to singing after a period away where she pursued other interests. She is thrilled to be back to one of her earliest loves – music – and is eager to continue to develop and sing for audiences.

Joy Okada is an emerging jazz vocalist in the DC area, having recently graduated from George Mason University. She had the honor and privilege of studying under accomplished jazz vocalist, music director, and educator, Darden Purcell. Through her time working with Purcell, Joy has developed a deep appreciation and love of jazz, gaining a particular fondness for
Nancy Wilson and Elis Regina. With solo performances at concerts such as the 2023 Darden and Friends Fall series, Joy was also able to hone her skills in the Mason Jazz Vocal Ensemble, leading the way for her to perform in venues such as Blues Alley, the 2023 and 2024 Jazz Education Network, and the 2024 VMEAs. In the future, Joy hopes to continue her pursuit and love of music through performing as well as writing and producing music of her own.