Our student Christopher-Lawson is on a roll! Last year he auditioned for and earned spots in both the Knoxville Christian Youth Band (trumpet) and the Knoxville Youth Jazz Orchestra (piano). And that’s not all. This busy 13-year-old, who takes trumpet lessons from our volunteer teacher Seth Hall, also has been in plays with the Knoxville Children’s Theatre, has been singing with the Knoxville Choral Society, was one of five “Rising Star” finalists in the 2020 Ace Singing Awards, was invited to sing as a guest soloist at the Overcoming Believers Church, and recently began mentoring with music professor Donald Brown at the University of Tennessee. Phew! On top of all that, he got accepted into Juilliard’s summertime Junior Jazz Academy, he has a major role in an upcoming feature film called “Marbles and Bullets,” and he appears in new public service announcement from the Knoxville YWCA. Christopher-Lawson’s mom, Muntazz, is his singing teacher. She’s a New Orleans native and a graduate of its Center for Creative Arts. Her daughter, Saiya, is also a talented musician and is taking flute lessons at the Joy of Music School. Saiya was accepted to Harvard University’s Pre-College Program for summer 2020 and will be studying American History Through Musicals. Despite all of Christopher-Lawson’s artistic endeavors, you might be surprised to know they’re not actually his most loved activity. “My favorite is tennis,” he explains. “I’ve been playing since I was 4.”