Jazzijua, Durham, NC
Adia Ledbetter
Adia Ledbetter was born in Durham, N.C. She started singing in elementary school and church and started taking voice lessons in high school. After high school, she took a break from voice lessons to earn a Bachelor of Science degree in Exercise and Sports Science from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. While attending college she had the opportunity to travel and sing jazz with pianist Yusuf Salim and bassist Freeman Ledbetter. After working in the field of Exercise and Sports Science for about three years, Adia decided to quit working to pursue her dreams of becoming a jazz musician.
Adia is a graduate of North Carolina Central University with degrees in Jazz Studies and Music Education. She has performed with the NCCU Vocal Jazz Ensemble and the University Touring Choir. Her performing experience includes opening for jazz luminaries Hubert Laws, Nnenna Freelon, Jimmy Heath, Grady Tate, Freddie Cole Antonio Hart, and the Branford Marsalis Quartet. Adia has studied voice under the tutelage of Lenora Zenzalai Helm.
Adia was chosen as an outstanding performer by DOWNBEAT magazine (June 2006) and was selected to participate in the 2006 Kennedy Center Betty Carter Jazz Ahead International Jazz Residency and Performance Project. In 2007, she was listed as a “vocalist to watch” in the NC Independent Weekly. In 2008, she was awarded an Emerging Artist Grant by the Durham Arts Council. This grant helped to produce her sophomore album “Rendezvous with Yesterdays.”
After spending a year teaching middle school chorus, piano, and introducing students to jazz, Adia is currently pursuing a Master of Jazz Studies Degree at Queens College in New York where she studies with jazz vocalist J. D. Walter. She is dedicated to the preservation of jazz music and hopes to continue a successful career as a jazz vocal musician and educator.
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