By Alexandra Mier y Teran
Calendar Editor
Senior Darynn Dean, a member of the GRAMMY Jazz octet and a finalist in the National YoungArts Foundation, is taking the stage by storm as a current contender in the Spotlight singing competition.
In the past year, Dean has become involved in programs such as the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People ACT-SO, Afro-Academic, Cultural, Technological and Scientific Olympics, and The Charles Dolo Coker Jazz Scholarship Foundation in which she earned both scholarship money and professional experience.
“I never started singing to get involved in these programs,” Dean said. “I never searched for them. I just followed up with flyers and suggestions and started seeing what I could do with all the opportunities that unfolded in my hands.”
As a freshman, Dean met Mira Costa alumni D.J. Stanfill, who was also a member of the GRAMMY Jazz ensemble and a finalist with YoungArts. He introduced her to the two programs, and she has been involved ever since.
“When I checked out the websites [for YoungArts and GRAMMY Jazz], I never thought I’d be able to do it,” Dean said. “I had an inclination to get involved, so I followed through. Nothing has been more gratifying than joining these programs.”
Dean spent one week in Miami, Florida, where she worked with singing instructors like Renee Fleming and Vanessa Williams, who are both trailblazers in the music world.
“[The] YoungArts [program in Miami, Florida] was a series of vocal jazz master classes and performances in front of panels,” Dean said. “As students, we got to collaborate with master teachers and professionals like Carry Mea Weems, Josh Groban and Chris Young. It was great to be able to talk to them and ask them questions about how they got to where they are today.”
Driven by scholarship funds, professional experience and networking opportunities, Dean pushed herself to become involved with these programs to promote herself and make valuable connections.
“I see myself becoming a professional performer,” Dean said. “In the music world, there’s the performing aspect and the business aspect. Being in these programs has helped me become more informed about both.”
To get where she is today, Dean has been coached and mentored by jazz legends like Barbara Morrison and Howlett Smith, the chairs of the music programs she has been involved in, Mira Costa choir director Michael Hayden and her father and cousin, both of whom are successful musicians.
“Over the past four years, I have coached Dean for all sorts of events. It is amazing [that] this [is her] second year in the GRAMMY Jazz ensemble,” Hayden said. “She is one of the hardest working singers I’ve had in my high school teaching career.”
Dean plans on continuing her passion for music at the collegiate level, hoping to one day turn her passion into a career. In the upcoming months, she will perform with her GRAMMY Jazz octet and continue her journey with the Spotlight singing competition in Los Angeles.
“It feels great to perform, but there are definitely positive and negative aspects,” Dean said. “There are always those times where you question whether you can do better, if you can get better at your craft, but it really feels amazing to get on stage and do what I love.”
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