Ms. Calida N. Jones is an accomplished musician, social justice advocate, and educator with more than 25 years of experience in performance planning, workshop and curriculum development, volunteerism, project management, and teaching in private and public institutions. Working with arts and cultural organizations across the nation, she has led efforts in advancing equity, diversity, inclusion, and access. She has built and supported several social change music programs both in Connecticut and around the country. Passionate about intentional purposeful teaching and community engagement, her personal mission is to ensure that children with limited resources have access to musical opportunities and activities. She is also deeply committed to correlating the art of teaching to life skills and community building through the lenses of Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Accessibility. Calida previously worked as a Vice President of Planning and Capacity Building at Arts Consulting Group, a national arts consulting firm. She continues to be a regularly-sought after International Speaker, Coach, Violinist, and Music Educator. Calida activates her philosophy of community building, inspiration, actionable solutions, and hope through motivational speeches, workshops, and coaching individuals all over the globe. Most notably, she recently had the opportunity to speak to over 500k individuals in Amravati, India. There, she shared the “Impact of Kindness”. A TEDx speaker in San Jose, CA, Calida has had the privilege of speaking at prestigious institutions such as the Yale School of Music, Duke University, The Connecticut State Capitol, and The Hartt School. She has received numerous honors during her career, including a scholar fellowship at the Aspen Ideas Festival, Elizabeth L. Mahaffey Fellowship, Grammy Music Educator Award nomination, the Connecticut Arts Hero Award for the Waterbury region, and the Father Thomas H. Dwyer Humanitarian Award for her work in Waterbury, Connecticut. In addition to being the Founder of CNJ Associates, she also recently co-founded an arts ecosystem called Creative Evolutions, a Human-Centered Adaptive Ecosystem that Creatives Actionable Solutions for Creative Individuals and Organizations. Calida has previously sat on many boards to include the El Sistema USA board, Sound Crossings Music Board, and as a councilwoman for the Connecticut State Arts Council. Currently, Calida serves as the Board President of the Connecticut Arts Alliance, a state-wide advocacy membership organization. Calida holds a bachelor of fine arts degree in violin performance from Indiana University of Pennsylvania and a master of music degree in violin performance and Suzuki pedagogy from The Hartt School.

Dr. Kelvin Jones is an active educator, conductor, musician, drill designer, and music arranger for high school and university music programs across the country, with his arrangements being performed throughout the United States, including the Dallas Winds. Formerly in his position at Louisiana State University, he served as the director of the award winning and Grammy-nominated Golden Band from Tigerland.

Bands under Jones’ direction have performed at events on the state and national level, including the Zulu Mardi Gras parade, New Orleans Saints, in Washington DC, Walt Disney World, the Southeastern Conference (SEC) Championship in Atlanta, GA, College Football Playoff (CFP) Peach Bowl and the CFP National Championship games. Under his direction, numerous performances of the LSU Tiger Marching Band have been selected for recognition and viewing at regional and national conferences of the College Band Directors National Association, including the Athletic Band Symposium and nominated for a 2023 Grammy award by the Recording Academy for their collaborative album with Zydeco artist, Sean Ardoin in the Best Regional Roots category.

A former K-12 public school educator, he was the band director at West Feliciana High School in St. Francisville, Louisiana. At WFHS, he led an active, comprehensive music program that produced numerous award-winning performances at state and national events, including the 2013 United States National Presidential Inauguration Music Festival in Washington DC. He holds degrees in Music from Jackson State University and Louisiana State University. In his spare time, he enjoys spending time with his wife Felicia, a nurse practitioner, and sons Samuel and Kye-Parker.