Dejeria Briggmon, a junior jazz studies major at the University of the District of Columbia, was selected to receive the 2023-2024 Ella Fitzgerald Memorial Scholarship.
The scholarship was established at the University of the District of Columbia Foundation by the Ella Fitzgerald Charitable Foundation. It is awarded based on the criteria detailed in the Ella Fitzgerald Scholarship Agreement between both foundations. This is the first time that UDC is offering the scholarship.
She started singing at the age of five. She grew up listening to jazz, old-school soul, R&B, and hip-hop, which she considers her musical preferences.
“It inspired me to pursue the career and basically make that type of sound in my own way. So that’s what caused me to go to school for it and just the love for music. I hear things differently. I can’t even listen to a song the same way that I would years ago because I understand what’s going on in the music from the instrumentation side to the vocal side. So, it’s just that passion, that love that I have, that I was raised on. That caused me to pursue a major in music,” Briggmon said.
She considers Sade, Phyllis Hyman, Rachelle Ferrell, Lalah Hathaway, Dianne Reeves, Gang Starr, The Roots, Dizzy Gillespie, Miles Davis, and The Baylor Project to be her musical influences, and Ella has always been a top inspiration.
Briggmon comes from a family of musicians. All of her siblings are musicians. Her brother plays the violin, clarinet, and trombone. Her little sister plays multiple instruments. Her older sister sings and raps, and Briggmon plays the piano as well as sings.
She has performed on and off campus. She performed in the small jazz ensemble in the music building, but she’s hoping to branch out and perform in other areas of campus as well. She has an upcoming performance in November where she’ll perform with the jazz band on campus followed by a performance with the UDC Jazz Ensemble at the holiday concert in December.
Briggmon is a musical director and plans to continue when she graduates. She also plans to continue performing.