Spotlight on Shonte Carter, Project Amplify Teaching Artist
This past year, MacPhail added teaching artist Shonte Carter to the roster of Project Amplify, a program to bring no-cost residencies outside of the classical canon to Minnesota schools.
Carter is an expert in the show style drumline of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU). The offering was a huge hit, with Marcy Arts Elementary, Ascension Catholic School, and Minneapolis South High quickly booking residencies.
“At first kids may think this style is too hard to learn, but I tell them to give their best effort, have good focus, and listen attentively, and that works,” says Carter. “HBCU show style drumline builds culture, confidence, identity, and belonging, plus it catapults opportunities for scholarships and careers, as it did for me.”
Carter grew up in Minneapolis and graduated from Virginia State University (VSU), an HBCU, with a bachelor’s degree in music education, with a concentration in percussion. An 8th grade mentor introduced her to HBCU drumline and connected her to a VSU instructor early in high school. “Music helped me be a trailblazer,” she says. “The odds were stacked against me, but music opened up so much opportunity for me.”
When Carter moved back to Minnesota three years ago, she and her husband, Deondre Carter, recognized the need for an HBCU program in K-12 schools. Together, they founded All City Music, which draws inspiration from HBCU band culture and offers programs in marching band, drumline, and majorette dance.
Last year, she got connected with Elizabeth Winslow, MacPhail’s Director of School Partnerships. “I told Liz about my philosophy and that I wanted to help in Minneapolis schools,” she says. “We clicked and that led to me becoming an artist-in-residence through Project Amplify. I have loved teaching students this style of music. I tell them that if they can take it and master it, it can be the thing that wins them scholarships, like it did for me.”
Winslow says Carter will absolutely be back on the Project Amplify roster next fall.
In addition to HBCU drumline, MacPhail’s K-12 artist residencies include beat boxing, Korean drumming, and West African drumming and dance. “Our goal is to bring talented professional musicians into classrooms to provide meaningful learning opportunities outside the classical canon,” says Winslow.
D’Shonte (Shonte) Carter is a music educator, cultural and youth program director, drumline clinician, and Executive Director of All City Music. D’Shonte graduated from Virginia State University, an HBCU, with a bachelor’s degree in Music Education with a concentration in Percussion. Recognizing that HBCUs and HBCU band culture are not readily accessible in Minnesota, Shonte and her husband, Deondre Carter, co-founded All City Music. All City Music aims to bridge the gap in arts access for underserved students within the Twin Cities by drawing inspiration from HBCU band culture and offering programs such as the Northside United Summer Band Camp, All City Band, and All City Residency. Her teaching, instruction, and entrepreneurship focus on closing the gaps in arts education and opportunities for youth by providing marching arts, including marching band, drumline, and majorette dance, to increase student engagement in the arts, incorporate culturally responsive curriculum and instruction, and provide an additional pathway to a brighter future.