The Gathering with Melvis Santa

Join the Institute of Jazz and Gender Justice in welcoming Grammy nominee, singer, creative pianist, composer, percussionist, and educator Melvis Santa to our Monday night Gathering.

The Gathering is an ongoing series presented by the Berklee Institute of Jazz and Gender Justice. Events are open to the greater Berklee community and public, and feature performances, guest lectures, workshops, and discussions—all with gender and racial equity as a guiding principle. 

Melvis Santa defines herself as an Afro-Cuban ARTivist whose music integrates storytelling from her cultural heritage in the diaspora and from the American jazz influence she continues to absorb since relocating to New York City. Born and raised in La Habana, Cuba, Santa came to performance at an early age. Classically trained in piano, voice, and acting, Santa made a splash at 14 by founding the all-female a capella group deemed by Chucho Valdés “the best Cuban vocal quartet of the past 30 years.”

Based in New York sine 2014, Santa continues to make a mark as a performer, adding to the Afro-Cuban jazz movement set forth by Mario Bauzá, La Lupe, Mongo Santamaría, and Celia Cruz, among others. She has served as a bandleader with different ensembles, including La Rumba de Santa; Ashedí, Ellas Son, Noche Cubana, and Jazz Orishas. She has showcased at the Newport Jazz Festival, BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn!, Lincoln Center Outdoors, and at venues like Dizzy’s Club, Birdland Jazz Club, Minton’s Playhouse, Aaron Davis Hall, the Jazz Gallery, and the National Jazz Museum in Harlem.

As an educator, Santa has guest-lectured at various universities across the US as well as in Europe, Australia, Latin America, and South Africa. She’s a multi-awarded teaching artist that creates culturally-centered arts programs for schools in the five boroughs. She's also a Paul Simon Music Fellows teacher awardee, NYC Women’s Fund 2023 honoree, Brooklyn Conservatory of Music Jazz Leaders Fellow, and a recipient of the NYC Mayor’s Office initiative Creatives Rebuild New York.

Santa’s collaborative reach spans genres and generations, featuring work with icons like Chucho Valdés and Charles Tolliver, contemporary masters Terri Lyne Carrington and Ravi Coltrane, and acclaimed ensembles such as Los Muñequitos de Matanzas and Women's Raga Massive.