I was raised in the Bronx, New York during the 1980’s and 1990’s. I lived in what was considered the “boogie down,” the community that is historically known as the birthplace of hip hop. I grew up in a house about 2o minutes away from the home of Dj Kool Herc, the Father of Hip Hop. Back then, the streets were always full of energy with kids who all wanted to sing, rap, dance, draw or act. We’d all form dance or singing groups and perform at our houses for family and friends. Lots of famous artists came out of New York during this time like LL Cool J, Run DMC, Sugar Hill Gang, Mary J Blige, Jennifer Lopez. Every day the streets were filled with loud boomboxes on every block while cars blasted the latest Run DMC, Snoop Dog, Biggie or SWV song on the radio. To this day, I still remember the summer of Lauryn Hill - if you know you know.
As a little girl, I would listen to the latest r&b, dance and pop music on my Fisher-Price record player for hours, memorizing notes and lyrics. I was so mesmerized by the energy and beauty of the performers and wanting to be just like them one day. I studied artists like Whitney Houston, Michael Jackson, Cindi Lauper, Kool & The Gang, The Commodores, Bell Biv DeVoe, Luther Vandross, and The Carpenters.
Throughout the years, I’ve become inebriated in all genres of music including pop, jazz, country, trap, hip hop, blues, folk, r&b and afro beats. I love to play all styles of music and feel blessed I’m able to do what I love for a living. Before I could talk or walk, I was doing music. performing on stages and being taught and molded by some of the best artists in the business.
Early Influences
Music In New York: 1980’s
In 1983, I officially began taking violin lessons at The Harlem School of the Arts. As a member of the String Ensemble, we performed throughout the 1980’s and early 1990’s, mostly in the New York City area promoting the Suzuki Violin Method to educational institutions and national organizations. The string ensemble was led by violinist Regina Manevich a violinist from Leningrad, Russia. Our string ensemble were featured on various television programs including Good Morning America and Sesame Street. We performed at many political events and were regularly at some of New York City’s prestigious performing halls including Alice Tulley Hall at Lincoln Center, The Schomburg Center, The Donell Library, The Apollo Theater, Carnegie Hall and Symphony Space.
New York in the 1990’s
In 1994, I was accepted into the prestigious Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts. The school was famously depicted in the "Fame" tv series. Most of the serious students at HSA also got accepted to LaGuardia and we would occasionally commute together after school during the week.
At LaGuardia, I majored in performance and studied music theory, songwriting and music production. My teachers were some of the top professionals in the business. I played in the symphony orchestra and multiple string quartets. And I was occasionally hired by faculty to perform in some of the city’s most high profile events including the National Democratic Convention in 1998.
During this time, I also took part in several after school programs designed to train young and upcoming artists for a profession in the arts. In addition to attending The Harlem School of the Arts Prep program, I attended New York’s All-City and All-State orchestras as well as “Add Joy To Learning” that taught young musicians about the recording business. We’d also go on field trips to meet real professionals in the business. Once we met Bill Krasilovsky, he wrote “This Business of Music," a coveted dictionary for any serious music entrepreneur. All the while, I was still at HSA, playing in the string orchestra, jazz strings as well as taking piano, art and acting lessons.
My entire high school years, were spent practicing and traveling throughout the city. I would travel on trains and buses from the Bronx to Manhattan from 5:00 in the morning to sometimes 10:00 at night, sometimes up to 5 hours per day. And I would still practice violin and piano between 3-5 hours per night. This was life for me, and I loved it.
I’m featured as one of the violinist on Jamaican Dancehall artist, Beenie Man’s classic “Maestro” album (1996)
The Win That Changed My Life
The moment I knew music would be my purpose was when I won the Essence Youth Competition in 1997. It was a city-wide arts competition held at the Harlem School of the Arts. I entered the instrumentalist category. It was hosted by radio personality and Yo! MTV Raps host, rapper Ed Lover. I received a multitude of prizes that year including money for college, VIP tickets to the televised Essence Awards and red carpet entrance alongside the entertainment industry’s biggest talents, including actress Halle Berry, Yolanda Adams, Prince, Kirk Franklin, and then Essence Editor-in-Chief, Susan L. Taylor. It was one of the most important events that ever happened to me. The confidence and validation I received that year changed my life forever.
1997 Essence Awards At Madison Square Garden - NY
#essencemagazine #vivicafox June 1997
#essencemagazine June 1997
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Purchase College - New York
In 1998, I auditioned and got accepted into the SUNY Purchase Conservatory of Music where I majored in Music Performance. I played in the Symphony Orchestra and we did all the major concerts for the Performing Arts Center. We played all the classics by Beethoven, Mozart, Copeland and others. We did all of the music for the dance and theater departments plus the operas and of course the yearly productions of Handel’s Messiah and The Nutcracker. I was the only black player in entire orchestra. The players were great but I still needed to add more variety to my curriculum.
I remember looking around one semester, I noticed there were no other players male or female that was black, only Asians and whites. I was no stranger to being in the minority. At the LaGuardia, NY all-city and all-state orchestras I was always in the minority being a black violinist, but at least there were always two or three of us at least. Purchase was different.
My private teacher was Laurie Smuckler, the first violinist for the Mendelsohn String Quartet. She taught at Julliard College as well. Everything was good in the beginning. She seemed very nice. I remember her auditioning me as well. Although, things changed as the semester went on. I started to feel like I was the black token or something. Id worked so hard my senior year of high school to fulfill the requirements, I was even given a partial music scholarship to attend. But, as time went on, I just wasn’t fond of her teaching style. We were clearly both two strong women and different goals musically. The last straw was when she tried to deny me performing in the student recital. I performed anyways of course. But, that’s when I knew it was time for something different. If that was the best the classical world had to offer, I wanted no parts.
In my sophomore year, I met trumpet player Jon Faddis, Dizzy Gillespie’s prodigy. It was his first semester teaching in the Jazz Department. I took his Jazz Improv class with the top players in the school. It was the only class he had at the time. He had to approve me to get in because I’d never even studied jazz before. It was the best decision I ever made.
Mr. Faddis had me do transcriptions of Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong, Clifford Brown, Oscar Peterson and lots of other jazz greats. He’d lend me records and give me projects to do to understand the language. He would sometimes take us students out to eat at these fancy Indian spots in the Village. And once I started living off campus, he’d drive me from school all the way to the Bronx. That’s when I fell in love with jazz.
Howard University - Washington, DC
In 2000, I transferred to Howard University in Washington DC, still currently the No. 1 HBCU in the United States. Howard is infamous for producing some of the country’s leading talents in all fields. When I attended, the music department was being ran by trumpet player, Fred Irby. He was very instrumental in me getting in. I auditioned only one month before classes begun. I played for violinist, Tim Macek, member of the for the Kennedy Center. As soon as I got there, I was assigned as concertmaster and we began working. By the first semester I was already performing at The Kennedy Center at an event hosted by the legendary Cicely Tyson.
Being there was great because I was able to get more jazz lessons and study more contemporary music. I even took a graduate level entertainment law class and aced it;) Most of the music professors there were current local working musicians, so they gave us a good perspective of what it would be like when we graduated.
Unfortunately in 2001, I happened to be staying at the Double Tree Hotel across from Pentagon that morning of September 11th. That year, the entire consortium of DMV college and university system was plagued with extremely low student housing and many of us students were housed at local hotels throughout the area. So shortly after the terrorist attacks, I decided to pause my studies altogether and return home.
