Founder’s Message
As a person of color, I experienced first-hand a “double stigma” that unfortunately still exists in many communities today. Often times vocalists are treated like second-class musicians simply because they choose to sing instead of play a “real instrument,” and minority vocalists are often placed even further down “the food chain.”
As a minority student, I understood what it was like to need, and not always receive the level of support — financial, logistical, emotional or otherwise — that would have made my journey a bit easier.
My own journey — at turns rewarding, frustrating, and overwhelming — led me in 2004 to create Mssng Lnks, a non-profit organization focused on helping these students often “on the outside” get the support they need as they pursue vocal or musical training. I knew that I could have the greatest impact by leveraging my own personal experiences as an educator, conductor, vocalist and Guyanese.
|
|
Samuel Martinborough,
Mssng Lnks Founder and Director |
|
|
Armed with the many invaluable lessons I had learned, I was confident that I could help prepare up-and-coming vocal professionals for the challenging journey ahead of them. From the beginning, I knew that I wanted the organization to utilize a three-pronged approach — education, collaboration and historical perspective — to help aspiring teenaged vocalists pursue their dreams, get into college and stay there.
I am extremely proud of the work Mssng Lnks is currently doing in the areas of education and community inter-gration. While we are a young organization, we have accomplished so much already — and yet there’s still so much more to do.
If you would like to get involved or have any ideas to share, we would love to hear from you.
Please contact Samuel Martinborough, Director, at smartinborough@mssnglnks.org.