Today we’d like to introduce you to Ceylon Mitchell.
Hi Ceylon, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Well, I’m a musician, educator, entrepreneur, husband, father, and believer. The story of how I became a classically trained flutist is both common and distinctive. Like many K-12 students in my hometown of Anchorage, Alaska, I first started instrumental music education on my very first recorder back in 4th grade. Then, in my school district, 6th grade was the time to choose a band or orchestra instrument. I’ll always remember walking into my hometown music store, aptly named The Horn Doctor, and hearing a flute in person for what felt like the very first time. I loved the sound, bought my first album of Hubert Laws (I eventually got to meet this pioneering Black flutist), and was hooked! You could say the flute chose me.
For undergraduate studies, I traveled to the east coast to initially double major in music performance and math in Rochester, NY. My high school physics teacher actually wanted me to become an engineer. When I transferred to the Boston University, I turned my full attention to music while enjoying a brief career as a Division 1 athlete in Track & Field. Later, I continued graduate studies in flute performance at the University of Maryland, College Park (UMD).
I’ve always loved exploring stories across history and cultures through a musical lens. Eventually, in college, I realized that not all stories were being represented equitably in classical music curricula, concert programs, personnel on stage, and beyond. Through experiences in graduate school, grant projects, and professional opportunities, including the Strathmore Artist in Residence program, it became my mission to celebrate marginalized cultures in classical music (and beyond), especially Black and Latine voices. Today, my research and repertoire spans from classical to living cultural traditions across the Americas, specifically Afro-Cuban and Afro-Brazilian music traditions.
During my time at UMD, I expanded my career beyond the performance stage with a deeper interest in marketing, communications, and multimedia production! As a student in the journalism school’s graduate certificate in multimedia journalism program, I brainstormed a business in my media entrepreneurship class around “a musician helping other musicians” with digital marketing and branding; this final project eventually materialized and matured to incoporate into an actual business! Today, I support creatives, arts organizations, and beyond with multimedia production and digital marketing consulting as the founder, creative director, and principal consultant of M3 | Mitchell Media & Marketing, LLC, a company I co-own with my wife. Tailored services include photography, videography, web design, and digital media marketing. Past clients include Americans for the Arts, Washington Performing Arts, International Contemporary Ensemble, The New School, Quinteto Latino, ARTSFAIRFAX, Maryland Citizens for the Arts, and numerous individual artists.
I would not be who I am today without the help and guidance of numerous colleagues and mentors inside and outside of the arts. I thank them for inspiring me to reach ever higher in my artistry, to treasure a variety of perspectives, and to relish in my unique multi-hyphenate arts career. I am truly grateful to my parents and the entire Anchorage, Alaska music community for preparing me for a promising career in the arts with countless opportunities and exposure throughout my youth. The late Sharon Nowak, my first flute teacher, and the late Ms. Janese Sampson, a dear music mentor, have been especially encouraging in my journey; my lessons, conversations, and memories with them motivate me on a daily basis.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
Absolutely not! Throughout my college matriculation and freelance career in the arts, I’ve had to deal with outdated and harmful standards of success and behaviors that reward the idea of “excellence” through burnout-inducing schedules, revel in favoritism, embrace elitist hierarchies within disciplines, and devalue the lived experiences of folx from the global majority. Macro and microaggressions during my earlier, more impressionable years occasionally created crippling moments of imposter syndrome, a lack of belonging, and an overreliance on and overcompensation with work ethic. With my love of music, I’ve always understood the need to invest many hours of practice and study to refine my craft. That said, over the years I’ve become better acquainted with the concept of working smarter, not harder, so I can make time and space for the other aspects of my identity and humanity beyond the practice room. As maturity, pride, faith, joy, and community comrades helped to lessen the negative impacts of my earlier obstacles, in more recent years, I have encountered an unfortunate reality about the traditional classical music education system: Many students are not being adequately prepared for an autonomous, unique, and sustainable career path after graduation. During my several years of music study, courses in development and fundraising, marketing and advertising, business management and entrepreneurship, and arts management were rarely encouraged and certainly never required. Broader issues of arts advocacy around affordable housing, mental health, and intellectual property were also rarely discussed beyond peer-to-peer commiserations. Long story short, to acquire a more comprehensive understanding of the arts ecosystem in which I decidedly exist, I simultaneously navigated demanding graduate degree curricula as a full-time student and supplemented my formal education with independent study, guided by issue area experts, and real-world experiences, including full-time positions in marketing, communications, and arts administration.
And then, there’s balancing work with a family…
I certainty would not be where I am today without my ever-patient, loving, and brilliant wife, the maternal health policy expert Denys Symonette Mitchell. Every day I am grateful for all she does to empower and encourage my multi-hyphenate career, including a focus on self-care. With our two toddler sons, we have navigated the country’s worsening childcare crisis with resilience and joy…as first-time homebuyers and in a new city–Charm City…during a global pandemic…while I finished my doctoral program. One day, I’ll have to write a book, a chapter, or maybe a featured article in a prestigious magazine – something!
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
As a performer, I love exploring Afro-Cuban and Afro-Brazilian cultural traditions, specifically Cuban charanga, and Brazilian choro. These rich traditions broaden my classical training, demand respect and thoughtful music study, fill me with joy, and proudly connect me to my ancestors within the African diaspora while strengthening solidarity with my Latine brothers and sisters. This artist mission has guided me through workshops, grant projects, residencies, and community programs. I look forward to working on and realizing a debut album with contemporary repertoire spanning from classical to folk and popular genres within Black and Latine cultures. I’ve already secured commission works from renowned composers such as Leo Brouwer (Cuban) and Clarice Assad (Brazilian-American).
As an educator, I believe in making musical experiences accessible to all students, especially for those from traditionally underrepresented communities. Through music lessons, I provide students with individualized instruction rooted in fundamentals and fun. As a beloved, eccentric mentor once told me, “laughter lubricates learning.” My mission is empowering and encouraging students to make music alive and applicable in their own lives, whether they’re passionate about symphony orchestras or salsa bands, funk or fusion, a cappella or Appalachian. Regardless of their career paths as adults, I want my students to acquire life-long skills that allow them to analyze, consume, support, and engage with art in their communities. Now, a flute faculty member with Levine Music, a flute instructor at Sidwell Friends School, and the flute choir director at Potomac Valley Youth Orchestra, I’ve been fortunate to work with, guide, and learn from numerous students over the years. My ultimate goal is to become a university music professor.
Working as a creative media entrepreneur and digital marketing consultant certainly sets me apart in my field. It’s incredibly fulfilling to support other creatives, organizations, and beyond with a unique skill set that was developed in my day jobs and side projects while completing my doctorate degree in music performance. Whether folx need help creating content, capturing memories, managing their digital presence, or just learning best practices, it is my entrepreneurial mission to support the success of their brands and businesses for our 21st-century landscape!
So, before we go, how can our readers or others connect or collaborate with you? How can they support you?
I’d love to connect and chat! Check out the links below to find me.
As a musician, I love sharing my voice, celebrating cultures, and building community with like-minded people through performances, presentations, recording sessions, and commissioning new works to broaden the canon.
As a content creator and consultant, it’s incredibly fulfilling to help clients and friends succeed in our 21st-century landscape. If someone you know would benefit from my services, spread the word!
As the African proverb tells us, “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.”
Contact Info:
- Website: www.ceylonmitchell.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/
ceylonmitchell - Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/
ceylonmitchell - Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/
ceylonmitchell/ - Twitter: https://twitter.com/
ceylonmitchell - Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/
CeylonMitchellFlutist - Other: https://www.m3mitchellmedia.
com/portfolio/
