Interview 4

“As an instrumentalist, (I know) the Bahamian community doesn’t really have a strong appetite for art music genres. I was giving traditional piano recitals and noticed the attendance wasn’t great despite the immense preparation and marketing. So I needed a way to create a larger audience to not only to highlight my burgeoning career as a classical pianist, but also as a way to raise funds to continue my education,” he said.

“I created the first Adventures Edutainment (education and entertainment) Experience in January of that year where I hoped not only to share how awesome this music is, but to connect it to both other art forms and to our everyday lives. It included not only traditional classical music but also 20th century genres, video game music and film music. It was originally designed for children and youth only. But with the last three productions we have opened it to the general public. The concept of the production has expanded to include other local and international performing and visual artists intertwined with film and drama.”

Since that time, Adventures in Art has been growing with a mission to foster a greater appreciation of the arts, developing the arts and growing a crop of passionate individuals.

“I felt that in our community art doesn’t go further than mere entertainment. There is nothing wrong with that, but arts can be used for so much more. It can literally change the trajectory of individuals’ lives, communities and nations if used with intention. It is my life’s mission to use the arts to achieve such ends,” he said.

To date, the initiative has reached over 1,000 students in the community through field trip experiences as well as over 500 people from the general public.

“Audiences have said that they left the show having had numerous new artistic experiences, for example baroque dance, live painting, video game construction, dramatic improvisation, and a new appreciation for those art forms. They are also more aware of their presence in their everyday experience,” he said.

Up next. Adventures in the Arts is producing its first ever Christmas edition and its fifth Edutainment Experience in five years on December 17-18 at the Christ Community Church.

Children and youth from local children’s homes will be admitted free of charge.

Dion said he feels privileged to be able to give back to his country and to share the wealth of his knowledge. He has the distinction of being the first Bahamian to earn a Doctor of Musical Arts degree.

He achieved this in 2019 at the University of Maryland, College Park. Dion now aims to broaden the artistic landscape locally and internationally through his academic work, professional engagements and community outreach efforts.

A true son of the soil, Dion graduated from Thelma Gibson Primary and St Augustine’s College in Nassau. During those years, he studied piano and music theory with Dawn Sands. Later on, he attended Macalester College and the Peabody Institute of Johns Hopkins where he studied with Don Betts and Marian Hahn. For his outstanding musical achievements, he won the prestigious Lila Bell Acheson and Frances Turner Prizes in Music. While at the University of Maryland, competition prizes afforded him the opportunity to make his Carnegie Hall debut in New York. Additionally, his dissertation, “The Science of Artistic Expression”, led to collaborations between the School of Music and the Neuromechanics Research Core.

Having had 10 years experience as a K-12 educator in the Bahamas and US, and having achieved his diplomas and masters of Music Education during those years, Dion is currently on faculty at the University of the Bahamas in Music and Education. His research work continues to explore intersections between the arts and sciences.

As a performer and presenter, his career has taken him to many places around the world, including Italy, Hungary, Greece, the United Kingdom, as well as the US and Canada. His most recent engagement was an eight-day tour of recitals and master classes in the US in September with colleague and trumpeter Dr Josh Gangeer.

“I felt that in our community art doesn’t go further than mere entertainment. There is nothing wrong with that, but art can be used for so much more. It can literally change the trajectory of individuals’ lives, communities and nations if used with intention.”