JoVia Armstrong photographed by Jannatul Pramanik

AfriClassical Futures is excited for our first program of the 2025 Season!

JoVia Armstrong will conduct a live recording session with strings, performed by D-Composed, a Black chamber music collective based in Chicago, followed by an art talk.

$15 / $10 w/ Student ID - Tickets Available HERE or at the Door

Artists Bios

JoVia Armstrong's career is marked by her collaborations with some of the most notable artists in the music industry. As a percussionist, sound artist, composer, and educator, she has left an indelible mark. Her talent was recognized when she won the Best Black Female Percussionist of the Year through the Black Women in Jazz Awards in 2015 and received the 3Arts Siragusa Foundation Artist Award in 2011 for her work as an educator. She was voted a Rising Star percussionist in Down Beat Magazine in 2023. She is the Secretary of Chicago’s Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM). Her performances with El DeBarge, The Impressions, Frank McComb, Les Nubians, Res, Omar, Nicole Mitchell, Malian musicians Ballaké Sissoko & Babani Kone, Chilean artist Joe Vasconcellos, musicians of the AACM, and many more, have connected her to the heart of the music industry. She earned a Ph.D. from the University of California- Irvine in their Integrated Composition, Improvisation, and Technology program. She released two albums, The Antidote Suite in 2022 and Inception in 2023, which have not only received critical reviews in publications such as Downbeat Magazine, The New York Times, Jazz Times, and The Wire, but also contributed significantly to the contemporary music scene. As a sound artist, she has composed for art installations and films, leaving a lasting impression with her unique sonic creations. She also has experience as a sound designer. In the Fall of 2022, JoVia began her service as an Assistant Professor of Music at the University of Virginia, further influencing the next generation of musicians and artists.