Why Bonniejazz?
Bonnie, is one of Sierra Leone’s finest music educators. He was a recipient of the Principal’s Trust scholarship of the Royal Scottish Academy of Music (now the Conservatoire of Scotland) where he earned his master's degree. Bonnie is a life time music educator who is involved in music education practices around the world: The Netherlands, Malaysia, Pan African Society for Music and Arts Education (PASMAE), Scotland, England, Egypt, Qatar, Singapore, the United Arab Emirates and the United States. He spent almost eight years teaching music in the Middle East to both international and local students, during which he developed a music curriculum for traditional Arabic learners. Bonnie is equipped to:
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Bonnie is an embodiment of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. His approach of viewing the world as a global village has afforded him opportunities to express his drumming skills and facilitation to various institutions. He has performed for the International Society for Music Education (ISME) in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in 2006 and he organized drum circles for corporate institutions in the Middle East, including the Shell Company. Drum circle activities include: Team building activities for corporate events and extended music programs for schools from K-12, incorporating the National Standards of Music Education.
(#2) Performing on instruments alone and with others
(#4) Composing and arranging music
(#6) Listening to, analyzing and describing music
(#9) Understanding music in relation to culture and history.
The special magic of choral music/group singing is gradually shaping lives and enhancing wellness in different senior living facilities. Created as a therapeutic tool for seniors with dementia, the program has been expanded to include seniors from all backgrounds and abilities. The successful program is a testament to the power of music, helping seniors find joy and connection through the gift of a song. Singing in the choir has it's health benefits too - it helps them to follow a schedule, stimulates their memory each week to show up for rehearsals and the music helps reduce behaviors that usually accompany dementia: aggression, anxiety and isolation.
The Senior Living Choir (SLC) is a music performance and wellness program for seniors from different backgrounds and abilities – Independent Living, Assisted Living and Memory Care. This program is both entertaining and therapeutic with emphasis geared towards wellness - social skills, reducing stress, building positive emotions, activating long-term memory, improve vocabulary, boost communication and self-confidence. Live music entertainment includes music through the ages, popular hits of the 50s to present day contemporary music from different genres.
Bonnie has been involved in church music all his life; thanks to the graces of his grandparents who gave him a solid Christian education and background by taking him to church every Sunday as a kid. It was during this time he fell in love with church music – the pipe organ and choral music. He then became a choir boy and later a conductor and assistant choirmaster.
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In Scotland, a "bonnie lad" is one who is beautiful and good, which fits how you'll experience his faith. Bonnie has a wonderful laugh, infectious smile, and a heart to see God's people pour their own heart into worship. He's been all over this world teaching, playing and leading in worship from Sierra Leone to Dubai and Qatar, to Glasgow and now Maryland, where he serves as a Director of Music Ministries, instrumentalist (keyboard/piano/organ, brass, woodwind, percussion, and guitar), youth minister, Bible study leader, and advocate for blended music in worship. Bonnie is not just capable of playing a variety of music, he wants to and believes it necessary to engage all people in worship of God. He has gracefully blended contemporary and traditional settings into one multi-cultural church service to make even the staunchest of worshippers' feet tap out a beat. Bonnie effortlessly integrates music technology in traditional settings and creates accompaniment tracks for all genres of music.
He has pioneered youth praise bands, children's choirs, chamber orchestras and handbell choirs. Bonnie also provides professional development and training for church musicians (instrumentalists and singers).
Bonnie has been passionate about music since he was a boy. At the age of fourteen years, he was a full-time trumpeter in pop bands and nightclubs. He embraced and performed different genres of music and dedicated all his time to developing his musicianship. Bonnie toured the United States at the age of twenty-one with a gospel group, appeared as guest music for two consecutive years in the Gambia and Nigeria, performed with the Philips Harmonie in the Netherlands as a student exchange program. During his teaching career in the Middle East, he provided live music entertainment at the Marriott Hotel in Egypt, La Mer (Five-star restaurant) at the Ritz hotel in Qatar and clubs in the United Arab Emirates.
Bonnie still provides music for different occasions ranging from conferences, breakfast meetings, dinners, church events, weddings, birthdays, BBQs, etc.
The Psychology of the Dance Floor - My job is to find a musical common ground with my audience; providing soundtracks that enhances the existing atmosphere and the vibe of the crowd. I want to make a connection with the actual humans on the dance floor. Even though I am busy mixing the tracks I am also the unseen guest on the dance floor.?
I do not impose my musical agenda on the audience. I always read the crowd, take a few requests, and this allows me to pivot if what I am doing is not working. Nothing is certain: crowds change, venues change, moods change; even entire scenes change. Having a fluid approach allows me to make adjustments towards what’s working… allowing me to be an effective, memorable music selector.?A happy crowd makes a happy DJ.
I provide services for corporate events, school programs and dances, birthdays, weddings, senior living programs, BBQs, etc. I have the latest equipment with over 2000W of Bose sound system, wireless microphones and up to date music of different genres for all occasions.
Bonnie is well known for his music tech skills - creating and recreating music in different genres. He has helped a few people kick start their musical pursuit by creating demos and accompaniment tracks for their tastes and styles. These tracks will range from accompaniments for school concerts, student demos for auditions, live performances for gigs, church, weddings, etc. Bonnie creates his own accompaniment tracks for his live performances by remixing popular hits to his own taste and style.
Music for funerals vary within cultures and the age of the deceased is a determine factor regarding the selection of music. Some cultures treat funerals as a home going celebration with upbeat religious music. Other cultures prefer the traditional mourning music selections - either way, Bonnie's got you covered. Using his trumpet, accompanied by the organ to embellish the hymns is a favorite for many families. He can also provide music at the graveside to accompany hymns and songs.