“Among her greatest joys was her 33 years of involvement with Young Audiences of Virginia! She served on the Board of Directors for numerous years and as President. She loved Young Audiences’ creative offerings annually to involve children in the arts.” Obituary for Jean Hogge Shackelford Arts for Learning mourns the loss while celebrating the […]

About Me
Synnika Alek-Chizoba Lofton is an award-winning poet, educator, author, and recording artist. He has written more than 30 collections of poetry, three novels, and one work of nonfiction; he has also recorded hundreds of singles, EPs, and albums of spoken word poetry. Lofton earned a B.A. with a concentration in creative writing and an MFA in creative writing, both from Goddard College. Having taught at Renaissance Academy, Chesapeake Bay Academy, Norfolk State University, and Virginia Wesleyan University, Synnika currently teaches poetry workshops and performs in a variety of venues.
Greg Lee is a drummer and master percussionist who lives in Hampton Roads. Growing up in an artistically diverse household in New York, he was exposed to musical genres that ranged from classical and rock to jazz and R&B, but it was Latin rhythms that spoke to him the deepest. Although he played piano, sax, and guitar earlier in life, he found his passion at age 32 when he began drumming. Greg went to the Governor’s School for the Arts in Norfolk.