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Jazz Fellowship

Omomuki's jazz fellowships consist of an annual jazz composition grant and an annual academic scholarship. The composition grant aids in professional development and provides wider exposure to a jazz musician by providing funds to compose and record an album of original jazz composition, and to premier the album in a live performance. The jazz scholarship provides supplementary funding for a musician enrolled in a four-year program.

2024 Recipient

Robert Gilliam

Robert is a tenor saxophonist in his final year of his graduate studies at The Juilliard School. He is originally from Dallas, Texas and is a graduate of the Peabody Institute. His artistic journey began as a classical cellist, but he discovered the saxophone at the age of fifteen. Since then, Robert has devoted himself to mastering his instrument and advancing Black American Music.

2023 Recipient

Sarah Hanahan + The Juilliard School

Sarah Hanahan is a jazz saxophonist and recipient of our 2023 Jazz Fellowship. She is from Marlborough, Massachusetts and a graduate of the Hartt School's Jackie McLean Institute of Jazz at the University of Hartford. Sarah is currently pursuing a Master's Degree in jazz performance at the Juilliard School in New York City.

2022 Recipient

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Aayushi Karnik

Aayushi is a jazz guitarist from Surat, India and in her fourth year pursuing a Bachelor of Music Degree at The Juilliard School in New York City. She is the recipient of Omomuki’s Juilliard Jazz Scholarship for both 2021 and 2022. Aayushi recently released a four-song EP called “The Summer Children,” which comprises the songs she wrote during the quarantine period and her time in India before she returned to the United States for her final year at Juilliard. The EP takes influences from Bluegrass, Jazz, Blues and Songwriting traditions. In her May, 2022 Juilliard graduation concert, Aayushi performed ten pieces (six arrangements and four original compositions) and incorporated musicians on bass, piano, drums, violin, vocals, trombone, alto saxophone, and trumpet.

2021 Recipients

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Josh Evans

Josh Evans is an American trumpeter and received the Omomuki Jazz Composition Grant. The grant provides funding for Josh to compose and record Mansa Mali, an evening-length suite for quintet, which he began composing in 2016 for MoMA and completed through the Omomuki grant. Mansa Mali debuted in two live performances at Dizzy's at Jazz at Lincoln Center on February 24-25, 2022.

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Aayushi Karnik

Aayushi is a jazz guitarist from Surat, India and currently pursuing a Bachelor of Music Degree at The Juilliard School in New York City. She is the recipient of Omomuki’s Jazz Scholarship. Aayushi started playing guitar at age 12, but became more serious on the instrument when she entered high school. She became aware of the Mahindra Blues Fest that is held every year in Mumbai, and was awestruck after watching the performances by Buddy Guy, Taj Mahal, Robert Randolph, Soulmate and Blackstratblues. While studying Architecture in India, Aayushi formed an acoustic band with a friend. She eventually decided to pursue her musical studies with Floyd Fernandes, a brilliant musician from Mumbai with whom she continues to study.

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