SANCTUARY
  • Open Book
    • Featured Interviews >
      • Archives: 2021
      • Archives: 2020
      • Archives: 2019
      • ARCHIVES: 2018
      • ARCHIVES: 2017
      • ARCHIVES: 2016
    • More Interviews >
      • ARCHIVES: Interviews 2019
      • ARCHIVES: Interviews 2018
      • ARCHIVES: Interviews 2017
      • ARCHIVES: Interviews 2016
    • Autism Awareness 2022 >
      • Autism Awareness 2021
      • Autism Awareness 2020
      • Autism Awareness 2019
      • Autism Awareness 2018
  • Blank Canvas
    • Featured Artists >
      • 2022 Featured Artist Updates
      • Featured Artist Archives: 2021
      • Featured Artist Archives: 2020
      • Featured Artist Archives: 2019
      • Featured Artist Archives: 2018
      • Featured Artist Archives: 2017
      • Featured Artist Archives: 2016
    • Selected Works
    • Culture Crawl >
      • Archives: Culture Crawl
    • 2022 Focus on Youth >
      • 2021 Focus on Youth
      • 2020 Focus on Youth
      • 2019 Focus on Youth
      • 2018 Focus on Youth
      • 2017 Focus on Youth
      • 2016 Focus on Youth
    • 2022 Celebrating the Men in Our Lives >
      • 2021 Celebrating the Men in Our Lives
      • 2020 Celebrating the Men in Our Lives
      • 2019 Celebrating the Men in Our Lives
      • 2018 Celebrating the Men in Our Lives
      • 2017 Celebrating the Men in Our Lives
  • Body & Spirit
    • Healthy Body >
      • Archives: Healthy Body
    • Healthy Mind >
      • Archives: Healthy Mind
    • Nutrition and Exercise >
      • Laura's Corner Table
      • Archives: Nutrition & Exercise
    • Personal Safety >
      • Archives: Personal Safety
    • Alternative Therapy >
      • Archives: Alternative Therapy
    • Navigating Relationships >
      • Archives: Navigating Relationships
  • INSPIRED LIFE
    • TRAVEL JOURNAL >
      • Travel Journal Archives
    • YOUR MONEY & BUSINESS >
      • MONEY & BUSINESS ARCHIVES
    • CAREER JOURNEY >
      • CAREER JOURNEY ARCHIVES
    • Smart Steps >
      • ARCHIVES: Smart Steps
  • GUEST ROOM
    • Ask an Expert >
      • ARCHIVES: ASK AN EXPERT
    • Kindness & Karma >
      • Archives: Kindness & Karma
    • We Hear You >
      • Celebrated Readers
      • TALKBACK
    • Submit Your Work
    • Book Giveaway 2022 >
      • Book Giveaway 2022 Winners' Circle
      • Book Giveaway 2021 Winners' Circle
      • Book Giveaway 2020 Winners' Circle
      • Book Giveaway 2019 Winners' Circle
      • Book Giveaway 2018 Winners' Circle
      • Book Giveaway 2017 Winners' Circle
      • Book Giveaway 2016 Winners' Circle
    • Surveys
  • Events
    • Events-Services-Specials
    • Sanctuary Events
    • Coffee & Conversation
  • Advertise
    • Media Kit
    • Sponsor Ad Packages
    • Meet Our Sponsors
  • About
    • Myrna's Musings
    • Our Team
    • Support Us
    • CONTACT US

March 2018: Featured Artist


 Singer-Songwriter, Bandleader & Educator:
Najwa Parkins
~~~

Picture
Photo Credit: Garth Woods
Najwa's Website
Najwa Parkins is a jazz vocalist, bandleader, songwriter, composer and educator from Philadelphia, PA. Born to Jamaican immigrant parents, Najwa was raised in the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania. Her musical journey formally began at nine years old when she started studying guitar privately and playing trombone in the elementary school band. She graduated from Temple University with a B.M. in jazz studies and vocal performance. In 2011, she released her self-produced, debut album, Not the Next Someone Else.

Najwa has performed as both a vocalist and trombonist throughout the U.S. and in Europe. She has shared the stage with a wide array of artists, including Benny Golson, Larry McKenna, Bob Dorough, Nellie McKay, Donn T, Houston Person, Nicholas Payton, Phil Woods and Branford Marsalis. She has performed as both a featured vocalist and trombonist with Phil Woods and the Festival Orchestra.

She can be seen and heard on the Emmy Award-winning television show, Alex and the Kaleidoscope, which premiered in March 2014. In the winter of 2016, she toured nationally, portraying Rosa Parks in the Mad River Theater Works production of “Walk On: The Rosa Parks Story."
Najwa currently leads her own trio and quartet and is an adjunct faculty member in the vocal jazz department at Temple University.


"Najwa is a refreshing new voice - a little smooth, a little edgy and a whole lotta smoky - she brings her own special take to familiar jazz standards. With sweetness...and sass, Ms. Parkins also delivers wonderfully crafted, original tunes that are smart, insightful and sometimes even amusing."  (The New Brunswick Jazz Project)

Najwa says, “I believe in the power of a good story. That’s why I was drawn to the stage, and it’s why I love reading and writing. Whether I’m performing my own compositions or a re-imagining of someone else’s music, I weave stories from my life experiences.”

Picture
Najwa Performing Aerial Hoop
Photo Credit: Mike O'Mahoney

Myrna Haskell, managing editor, asked Najwa where she finds her sanctuary (#WheresYourSanctuary):
I'm an avid reader, so reading was probably my first true sanctuary (and it still is a great sanctuary for me). However, for the past two and a half years or so, aerial arts have become my number one sanctuary. I was a competitive gymnast when I was younger, and when I looked through the windows of the Philadelphia School of Circus Arts, I knew I had to try it. I do static trapeze, lyra (aerial hoop), and silks. Aerials especially helped me to keep my sanity during graduate school, and they continue to serve that purpose, while challenging me physically, mentally, and creatively at the same time.
 
In the last year, I've started to do performances as an aerialist as well. It's a great way for me to connect with my roots as a gymnast and dancer, while physically moving through my musicality as well. I'd love to combine my original music with aerial acts of my creation in the future. An all-female, Philadelphia-based, aerial dance company called Tangle Movement Arts recently asked me to perform in their upcoming spring production in March. They are an incredible and supportive group of strong women, and I'm honored for the opportunity they have extended to me.

UPCOMING PUBLIC PERFORMANCES
March 21, 2018
INC
New Brunswick, NJ
8:00 pm - 10:00 pm
(New Brunswick Jazz Project is honoring
women in jazz/women bandleaders throughout March)

June 16, 2018
Deer Head Inn
Delaware Water Gap, PA
7:00 pm - 11:00 pm

June 29, 2018
The Philadelphia Museum of Art
Details TBD

August 9, 2018
MusikFest
Bethlehem, PA
5:30PM—7PM
Picture
Najwa Performing at the Deer Head Inn
Photo Credit: Joan Samra

Picture
Najwa's Website
Find Najwa on:
Twitter
Instagram


​NEWS...

January Themes:
Hope, Reinvention,
No More Winter Blues


Next newsletter goes out:
February 3rd
​
Next Coffee & Conversation:

February 15, 2023
How Attachment Styles Affect Relationships
​
Next Team Talk:
TBA
Picture
SEND YOUR SUGGESTIONS:
Let us know what you would like
to see and read about in SANCTUARY.
seniorstaff@sanctuary-magazine.com
Free Newsletter
Support Us
Please LIKE us and FOLLOW us!
USE:
#WheresYourSanctuary
SEND US A GOOGLE REVIEW!

© 2022 Sanctuary Online, LLC
All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited.
​Opinions expressed by contributors are not necessarily the opinion of this publication.
  • Open Book
    • Featured Interviews >
      • Archives: 2021
      • Archives: 2020
      • Archives: 2019
      • ARCHIVES: 2018
      • ARCHIVES: 2017
      • ARCHIVES: 2016
    • More Interviews >
      • ARCHIVES: Interviews 2019
      • ARCHIVES: Interviews 2018
      • ARCHIVES: Interviews 2017
      • ARCHIVES: Interviews 2016
    • Autism Awareness 2022 >
      • Autism Awareness 2021
      • Autism Awareness 2020
      • Autism Awareness 2019
      • Autism Awareness 2018
  • Blank Canvas
    • Featured Artists >
      • 2022 Featured Artist Updates
      • Featured Artist Archives: 2021
      • Featured Artist Archives: 2020
      • Featured Artist Archives: 2019
      • Featured Artist Archives: 2018
      • Featured Artist Archives: 2017
      • Featured Artist Archives: 2016
    • Selected Works
    • Culture Crawl >
      • Archives: Culture Crawl
    • 2022 Focus on Youth >
      • 2021 Focus on Youth
      • 2020 Focus on Youth
      • 2019 Focus on Youth
      • 2018 Focus on Youth
      • 2017 Focus on Youth
      • 2016 Focus on Youth
    • 2022 Celebrating the Men in Our Lives >
      • 2021 Celebrating the Men in Our Lives
      • 2020 Celebrating the Men in Our Lives
      • 2019 Celebrating the Men in Our Lives
      • 2018 Celebrating the Men in Our Lives
      • 2017 Celebrating the Men in Our Lives
  • Body & Spirit
    • Healthy Body >
      • Archives: Healthy Body
    • Healthy Mind >
      • Archives: Healthy Mind
    • Nutrition and Exercise >
      • Laura's Corner Table
      • Archives: Nutrition & Exercise
    • Personal Safety >
      • Archives: Personal Safety
    • Alternative Therapy >
      • Archives: Alternative Therapy
    • Navigating Relationships >
      • Archives: Navigating Relationships
  • INSPIRED LIFE
    • TRAVEL JOURNAL >
      • Travel Journal Archives
    • YOUR MONEY & BUSINESS >
      • MONEY & BUSINESS ARCHIVES
    • CAREER JOURNEY >
      • CAREER JOURNEY ARCHIVES
    • Smart Steps >
      • ARCHIVES: Smart Steps
  • GUEST ROOM
    • Ask an Expert >
      • ARCHIVES: ASK AN EXPERT
    • Kindness & Karma >
      • Archives: Kindness & Karma
    • We Hear You >
      • Celebrated Readers
      • TALKBACK
    • Submit Your Work
    • Book Giveaway 2022 >
      • Book Giveaway 2022 Winners' Circle
      • Book Giveaway 2021 Winners' Circle
      • Book Giveaway 2020 Winners' Circle
      • Book Giveaway 2019 Winners' Circle
      • Book Giveaway 2018 Winners' Circle
      • Book Giveaway 2017 Winners' Circle
      • Book Giveaway 2016 Winners' Circle
    • Surveys
  • Events
    • Events-Services-Specials
    • Sanctuary Events
    • Coffee & Conversation
  • Advertise
    • Media Kit
    • Sponsor Ad Packages
    • Meet Our Sponsors
  • About
    • Myrna's Musings
    • Our Team
    • Support Us
    • CONTACT US