“No stranger to the Miss Virginia Volunteer organization, Musical Director, Jay Ware is an award-winning artist, educator, arranger, and music advocate. He has performed and/or recorded with over 200 artists, including: NEA Jazz Master David Liebman; Grammy winner Delfeayo Marsalis, Grammy winner Dee Stewart, 2X Grammy winner Charlton Singleton, Grammy winner Sullivan Fortner; Grammy nominated artists Chris Potter, Donny McCaslin, Jack Wilkins, Jeremy Fox, and Chuck Owen; Christian artist Charles Billingsley; Dove Award winner Rex Carroll; Funk legends Maceo Parker and Fred Wesley; Rock and Roll Hall of Fame member Mary Wilson and The Supremes; Percussive Arts Society Hall of Fame member Bob Becker; Pulitzer-Prize winner Gunther Schuller; opera diva Marietta Simpson; Brazilian vocalist Liz Rosa, instrumentalists Wycliffe Gordon, James Carter, Jason Marsalis, Tony DeSare, Deana Martin, the Buselli/Wallarab Jazz Orchestra, Charleston Jazz Orchestra, Broyhill Chamber Orchestra, Charleston Symphony Orchestra, Lynchburg Symphony Orchestra, the New York Brass Quintet, and many others. He has performed at festivals and conventions including: Spoleto and Piccolo Spoleto Music Festivals, South Carolina Jazz Festival, ColaJazz Festival, Charlotte Jazz Festival, Crested Butte Festival, Greenville Jazz Festival, University of Mary Jazz Festival, New Trier Jazz Festival, American Bandmasters Association, College Band Director National Association, Music Educators National Conference, Percussive Arts Society Days of Percussion, Appalachian Summer Music Festival, as well as special appearances on various television and radio broadcasts. In 2007, he began forming and writing for his own groups which have performed throughout the nation, including residencies at various colleges/universities.” ... See MoreSee Less

TICKETS ON SALE NOW ✨💙
Head on over to academycenter.org/event/miss-virginia-volunteer-2025-finals/ or click the link in our bio to purchase your tickets and reserve your spot at our pageant happening August 2 & 3rd! Trust us, you don’t want to miss out on this amazing event — tell your family and friends and we’ll see you there! 👏🏼 ... See MoreSee Less

Exciting to announce our band member Dave Cleveland!

Dave was raised around the vibrant Washington D.C. music scene. An easy drive to mountains or the coast opened up a world of nature and Dave found his love of fishing. Dave laughs out loud at Jerry Lewis and makes his friends laugh making bicycle horn sounds on his nose. On a more serious note, he is a first call session guitar player in Nashville. Dave has played on more than 30,000 songs, including many Grammy and Dove Award winning projects. His movie credits include I Still Believe, The Apostle, Jimmy Neutron, Courageous, and the Netflix Series Space Force. He is a member of The Sam’s Place house band at the Ryman Auditorium, hosted by Steven Curtis Chapman. In his constant pursuit of creativity, Dave has amassed a large library of songs used consistently on TV shows, commercials, and movies worldwide. With more than 1500 original compositions in rotation, he is heard on shows like 20/20, The Chew, Undercover Boss and many more. When it comes to 11 One/Music Dave says: “I am excited for people to hear music that is created by people who genuinely love what they do. It’s more than the notes, it’s the heart behind them.” ... See MoreSee Less

We are so excited to welcome Jon Werking to our production team!

Jon has performed with a virtual “who’s who” in the world of contemporary artists; Wynton Marsalis, Idina Menzel, Roberta Flack ,The Manhattan Transfer, Toni Braxton, Patti LaBelle, New York Voices, Deborah Cox, Liza Minelli, Linda Eder and many others. Jon has performed with The New York Pops, The Boston Pops, and Albany Symphony Orcherstras, respectively.
Other vocalists Jon has worked with include Steven Curtis Chapman, Edwin McCain, Bruce Hornsby, Rueben Stoddard and Taylor Hicks (from American Idol). He’s also worked with saxophonists Michael Brecker, Grover Washington Jr., Bob Mintzer, and Bill Evans. Jon is the featured pianist with the Buddy Rich Big Band on the “Burning for Buddy” tribute album/DVD. He worked as a staff accompanist on “The Voice” show. He was the in-house accompanist for the “Regis and Kelly Show” from 2005-2007 and performed on the Tony awards. He also performed at two presidential inaugurations (Bill Cinton, 1996 and George W. Bush, 2004, respectively.)
He’s performed on movie soundtracks such as Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, You’ve Got Mail, The Gangs of New York (Martin Scorsese) and many others.
He’s performed extensively on Broadway including the Tony-award winning shows, “Fosse”, “Elton John’s “Aida”, Come Fly Away (Frank Sinatra tribute), Tarzan, Grease, Mamma Mia, and The Wedding Singer.
Jon is currently on the faculty of Liberty University specializing in contemporary keyboard and ensembles.
Jon holds a B.M. in Piano Performance/Minor in Communications from Ithaca College and a M.M. in Jazz studies and contemporary media from the Eastman School of Music. ... See MoreSee Less

We are excited to talk a little bit our band that will be performing during both preliminary and final nights of competition!

Jonah Horton is a multi-genre mandolinist and bassist from Wilkesboro, North Carolina. He began playing mandolin at the age of seven, and spent his teenage years traveling across the eastern United States with his progressive bluegrass band The Trailblazers (2016-2020). They released two albums during their career, and their most current release, “Space and Time”, was produced by Jonah. Additionally, The Trailblazers were presented with the International Bluegrass Music Association’s (IBMA) Momentum Award for band of the year in 2018. Most recently, Jonah joined bluegrass legends Scott Vestal, Cody Kilby, Pat Flynn, and Tim Crouch to be the featured mandolinist on John Cowan’s (The Doobie Brothers, Newgrass Revival) upcoming album “Fiction”. Other notable full-album appearances include Scott Vestal’s “Bluegrass 2022” (mandolin) and Joseph Henson’s “A Thousand Words” (bass). Jonah was nominated on the second ballot of the 2022 IBMA awards for Mandolin Player of the Year, and is currently performing with The Krüger Brothers, The Jay Ware Group, and is in the process of forming his own ensemble. He regularly works as a session musician, and earned his master’s degree in music performance from Liberty University in the spring of 2024. To keep up with Jonah, you can check out his website jonahhortonmusic.com or follow his Instagram account @jonahhortonmusic. ... See MoreSee Less