May 23, 2024

SunShine Cathedral for the Performing Arts

www.GENVAS.org

By Denny Patterson

In partnership with Sunshine Cathedral Center for the Performing Arts, Generation Venetian Arts Society (GENVAS) is proud to present Our Brilliant Cultural Tapestry, a special original Salon concert showcasing the vibrancy of South Florida and its artisans. 

Featuring performances from a range of genres by entertainers representing the diversity of our community, audiences can expect an engaging and whimsical evening of music. One of the production’s featured artists is none other than Broward County’s Cultural Division Director Phillip Dunlap, who will be playing certain selections of jazz.

Hailing from St. Louis, Missouri, Dunlap has always been a staunch advocate for arts and cultural diversity in communities. While in St. Louis, he served on the boards of several nonprofit organizations such as Jazz St. Louis and Missouri Citizens for the Arts, and he also taught jazz history and music business at prestigious colleges like Webster University and Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville.

All are welcome to attend Our Brilliant Cultural Tapestry on May 23, 2024, at Sunshine Cathedral, and Dunlap took some time to talk more about it and his passion for the arts with OutClique. 

Denny Patterson: Phillip, can you begin by telling us what we can expect from your upcoming GENVAS concert?

Phillip Dunlap: Well, this concert is sort of a collection of groups and musicians from South Florida, so I’m just very happy and honored to be involved. I’m a jazz pianist, so my bread and butter are a lot of the core repertoire from the Great American Songbook, jazz standards, etc., and I’m still mulling over the set that I’ll play. My portion will probably be 20-30 minutes out of the whole concert, so you’re talking 3-4 pieces. I’ll be playing solo piano; there’s a fantastic grand concert piano at Sunshine Cathedral that I can’t wait to play on, and you can expect some repertoire that I’m sure people will know. Even if they don’t know the specific pieces, I think the style that I’ll play is going to be very familiar to people.

Denny Patterson: This concert is titled Our Brilliant Culture Tapestry. What do you hope audiences take away from it?

Phillip Dunlap: One of the things that makes Broward County great is its diversity and its cultural diversity. Just like a tapestry, we’re so interwoven and connected, and that’s a great thing about art. It brings us together to celebrate that diverse tapestry, and what a great tie-in to have all these different artists from different backgrounds and styles of music. Jazz is a tapestry in and of itself, something that was woven together and continues to be added on to by everyone that studies and plays the music. So, I think the title of this concert is a perfect representation, and the artists in the program and the music that will be performed are perfect tie-ins. 

Denny Patterson: Since becoming the Director of Broward County’s Cultural Division, have you had a chance to perform much?

Phillip Dunlap: Not as much as I’d like. Before I moved here, I was much more ingrained in the music scene of St. Louis, Missouri. Of course, I had gone to school in the area and knew everybody. I was already in the scene, but here, I have a lot more limited time. I’m fortunate enough that I don’t need to seek the gigs out from an economic standpoint, but it’s still very much a part of who I am and it’s a very important piece of me. I sort of made a promise to myself that I wasn’t going to be one of those arts administrators that got a job and would just sit behind a desk all day. Continuing to perform and enrich that part of myself is a way for me to stay connected to the arts community here, and I think it also strengthens my ability to do this job. I still ultimately see it from the artist’s perspective, which I think is so very important. You can occupy and have a job that’s sort of up here, but you can still be very much rooted in the people and what makes the art form. 

Denny Patterson: What is it about jazz music that has always appealed to you?

Phillip Dunlap: That’s a good question. I think I’ve always been someone that doesn’t fit well into a prescribed mold, and what I like about jazz music is that there was a framework and structure that was provided, but within that structure and framework, you had the ability to make it your own. That was my struggle with classical music as a young musician, the idea that there was one way to interpret something, or it was all about perfection and accuracy. Within that perfection and accuracy, how do you still make something your own or be true to yourself? I really struggled with that, but jazz became a blueprint, and I had all these possibilities of how to take and use that blueprint as a way to express myself through music. So, I think that’s why jazz really appealed to me. There’s the idea that you could play the same song every night for a year, but it’s going to be different every night. 

Denny Patterson: I assume it’s safe to say you’ve always had a love and passion for music?

Phillip Dunlap: Yes, as long as I can remember. I started taking piano lessons in second grade, and I remember as early as fifth grade knowing that I wanted to pursue music as a career. But what that exactly entails has evolved over the years. When I was in fifth grade, I wanted to be a concert pianist, but when I heard my first jazz concert, which was my brother’s high school jazz band, I was like, I want to study that music. As I studied and learned more about jazz in high school, I decided I wanted to be a jazz pianist, so I went to school for jazz piano. Then in school, I was like, wow. Pursuing music full-time is a difficult career. I thought I could do it, but I began to gravitate more towards the administrative and business side, and I knew I could do the admin and business stuff and still be involved in the performance elements of it. So, the focus over the years has evolved, but I’ve known since fifth grade that I wanted to pursue music as a career. 

Denny Patterson: Before we wrap up, are there any other upcoming projects or any updates with Broward County’s Cultural Division you would like to tell us about?

Phillip Dunlap: Just keep on the lookout for some exciting new initiatives coming down the pike, but nothing I want to get ahead of myself with. Make sure to check out ArtsCalendar.com for the latest updates. 

For more information and to purchase tickets for Our Brilliant Cultural Tapestry, visit GENVAS.org.