Mansa Gory is a humble connoisseur of sound. Growing up in the Dizzy Gillespie projects of Cheraw South Carolina, he was indoctrinated into the spirit of protagonist artistry at a young age. It was in that time frame where he acknowledged that he was destined to be a musical artist, actor, and author, striving to bring communities together for higher achievement.

 

Mansa currently serves as the Director of Bands at the Denzel Washington School of Performing Arts School on the Nellie A. Thornton Educational Campus, which is located in Mount Vernon, NY. In the past he has been the band director at Boys and Girls High School (Brooklyn), The Brooklyn Steppers Marching Band, Blackfire Percussion, ICE Cold Performing Arts, and Mount Vernon High School. Mansa has served on the music staff at the Rosemont Cavaliers Drum corp of Illinois where the percussion section won the highly coveted, Fred Sanford best percussion performance award (National Championship). Mr. Gory earned the Jim Ott trophy for best hornline in the World as a member of the Concord Blue Devils where he was inducted into the Hall of Fame under the tutelage of Wayne Downey and John Meehan. Mansa was a 2021 Grammy Music Educator of the year Nominee.

 

Mansa Gory founded a non-profit youth enrichment organization, ICE Cold performing arts, which serves as a band pipeline from 4th grade through college. As a band director, Mansa has maintained a multitude of high-demand performance contracts with: Tommy Hilfiger, NY Knicks, The Today Show with Regis and Kelly, NY Empire, and NY Streets Arena Football Team.

 

Completing his Bachelors at the University of South Carolina, Mansa became a brother of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia and Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Incorporated. Earning his Masters at Lehman College, he plays the Trumpet, Trombone, Euphonium, Guitar, Bass Guitar, Piano, Percussion, and Sings.

 

Mansa Gory takes great pleasure in pursuing artistic proclivities while he holds the complete works of Aristotle in one hand and a delicious sandwich in the other. Based in NY.

 

Find more of Mansa:

Instagram: @mansa_gory

Twitter: @gorymansa

Website: https://mgory2000.github.io/mansagory/

 

A statement from Mansa:

"This piece was created to foster an environment where the exploration of self may be conducted in an impactful and revelatory manner. To diminish the human tendency of self-degradation in order to be of better service to our families and communities is one of the primary aims of this selection. The artistic risk taken is the juxtaposition of music, nature sounds, motif, acting, trombone performance, and poetry in a theatrical audio framework.

I believe that the arts are the engine of humanity. The arts bring communities together for higher achievement, empathy, and appreciation."

 

This Original Piece is performed entirely by Mansa Gory. (Writer, Actor, Singer, Piano, Bass Guitar, Trombone, Nature Recording Engineer, Audio Mixing, and Audio Mastering)

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Created during a time of quarantine in the global Coronavirus pandemic, A Moment Of Your Time’s mission is to provide a space for expression, collaboration, community and solidarity. In this time of isolation, we may have to be apart but let’s create together. 

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Concept by Jenny Curtis

Theme music by Chris Porter

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