Dr. Ceylon N. Mitchell II, Director

Dr. Ceylon Mitchell II embodies the 21st-century arts leader as a contemporary classical flutist, curator, educator, and entrepreneur. On a mission to celebrate Black and brown voices in music, his diverse repertoire spans from classical to living cultural traditions across the Americas. He has performed in venues such as Boston's Symphony Hall, the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts with Robert Glasper, and the Music Center at Strathmore as an Artist in Residence. An avid chamber musician, Dr. Mitchell leads his own music collective, Raíces Negras, celebrating Black and Latine voices with contemporary classical and jazz music. As a music educator, Dr. Mitchell is the Flutes on the Brink ensemble music director, Potomac Valley Youth Orchestra flute choir director, and a flute faculty member with Levine Music, the Washington D.C. region's preeminent center for music education. He earned a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the University of Maryland School of Music, under the tutelage of Dr. Sarah Frisof. Achievements include the Strathmore Artist in Residence, a Prince George's County Forty UNDER 40 Award in the Arts & Humanities, and numerous artist fellowship grants. Originally from Anchorage, Alaska, he resides in Baltimore, MD with his wife and two sons.