Finding Rhythm: The Music Project

The children’s musical production Finding Rhythm brings the rhythms of DC’s go-go music into spaces dedicated to community and healing.

Covered by NBC4, DCist and dubbed “The most DC thing” by WUSA9 news, Finding Rhythm tells a story of the biological origins of human rhythm, and teaches how rhythm grows the brain and helps us find our individual power... and our connection with community. 

The Creator of Finding Rhythm:

Dr. Jessica

Jessica Phillips-Silver, Ph.D. is a music neuroscience scholar and international speaker, founder of Growing Brains, and the creator of the Finding Rhythm music project and educational curriculum.

Dr. Jessica’s work explores how musical rhythm shapes brain growth from infancy, supports healing, and provides the brain basis for human connection. Her research has been featured in top scientific journals including Science Magazine, and in media including The Discovery Channel, NPR, NBC4, The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, Time Magazine, USA Today, MSNBC, Men’s Health, and The Atlantic.

Dr. Jessica was formerly an Associate Researcher in Neuroscience at Georgetown University, where she used neuroimaging to investigate the neural network for feeling rhythm in music. She served as Adjunct Professor in the Faculty of Music, where she developed Georgetown's first course on Music and the Brain. Prior to that Dr. Jessica was a postdoctoral fellow at the International Laboratory for Brain, Music and Sound in Montreal, after completing her Ph.D. in Auditory and Music Neuroscience at the McMaster Institute for Music and the Mind in Ontario, and a Bachelor of Humanities & Arts degree in Cognitive Science & Vocal Music from Carnegie Mellon University.

The show Finding Rhythm, supported by multiple grants from the D.C. Commission on the Arts and Humanities and other community partners, is a culmination of Dr. Jessica’s research and arts advocacy, and is a tribute to the power of the rhythms of DC's go-go music to grow children's brains, build connection, and find the source of their power.

As Featured In:

The Arranger, Producer, & Music Director of Finding Rhythm:

Dante' Pope is a multi-genre drummer-vocalist and a native of Chicago, and member of the Grammy award-winning band Old Crow Medicine Show. He blends his gospel roots with a soulful swing that has been showcased around the world. Dante' is a Grammy Board Member of the D.C. Chapter. His passion for arts in education connected him with The Musicianship, DC Public Schools, The Mayor's Youth Employment Program, and Levine School of Music as a percussion instructor.

Dante' released his debut soul project, 'After Five Music,' as a Strathmore Artist in Residence in 2019. He toured with Kenny Wesley and the Soulful Nerd Band, served as Music Director for Grammy-nominated soul artist Raheem Devaughn and the CrossRhodes, toured the country with Grammy Award-winning artist Dom Flemons' Old Crow Medicine Show, and has collaborated with a host of artists in genres from jazz to afrobeat. Dante' collaborated on the 2019 Grammy-nominated album 'Black Cowboys', a project with Dom Flemons and Smithsonian Folkways.

As Music Director, arranger, percussionist, and lead vocalist in the role of Father Rhythm, Dante' shares not only his vast musical skills, but a deep well of inspiration, cultural compassion, and thoughtful partnership in the musical Finding Rhythm.

Members of Finding Rhythm

Sylvia Soumah

West African Dance, Vocals, Lead Elementary Education Mentor

Rochelle Rice

Vocals, Performance Lead

Kaiyla Gross

Vocals, Performance Lead

Dior Ashley Brown

Emcee, Rhymes, Vocals

Elijah Jamal Balbed

Saxophone, Lead High School Education Mentor

Finding Rhythm Musicians & Contributors

Amadou Kouyate

Kora

Mark G. Meadows

Piano

Matthew Miller

Latin Percussion, Drums

Kinard Cherry

Bass

Uasuf Gueye

Balafon

Mongezi Ntaka

Guitar

Pete Muldoon

Electric Guitar

Marshall Keys

Soprano Saxophone

Kristen Arant

African Drums

Praise For Finding Rhythm

  • "Organic… phenomenal!!!"

    Natalie Hopkinson | American University Professor, Author, Go-Go Scholar & Co-Founder of the #DontMuteDC movement

  • "Ageless… Full of color!"

    Dior Ashley Brown | Emcee, Hip-Hop Artist, Founder of DC Music Summit

  • "BRAVO Excellent show. It was amazing. I'm so glad I came!"

    Uncle Devin | The Children’s Drumcussionist, Host of WEE Nation

  • "Kudos to Finding Rhythm for using this unique artform of Go-Go music as a tool for cognitive development in children. I absolutely love the song Soul, Beat, Connection as it shares the factual narrative of the origins and evolution of DC Go-Go music. I am looking forward to hearing more music from Finding Rhythm."

    Matt Miller (aka Swamp Guinee) | Musician, Educator, Founder of Crank Lukongo

  • "I want to commend Dr. Jessica on her incredible show Finding Rhythm, and her educational curriculum for DC Public Schools based in music and brain science. It is really powerful to show how rhythm can be a tool for children’s brain development and learning, and then to implement it in the classroom. As an educator and a mother, I just really want to thank you for what you are doing."

    Dr. Bweikia Steen | Professor of Multicultural Education, George Mason University

  • "As an arts educator invested in providing my students with authentic cultural experiences, I really loved how your residency used Go-Go music as a way to ground children through an artistic connection to time, place, and local history. Exploring the neuroscience of music with these students also allowed them to better understand how art connects to the human brain on a deeper level, and how engaging in the artistic process - such as through music making - contributes to both creative and intellectual growth. Beyond the content, involving students in decision-making such as which instruments they played, how the music was arranged, and how to perform for the larger community gave them an invaluable sense of personal agency that can sometimes get lost in the rigidity of educational curricula."

    Mindy | Elementary music teacher in Southeast DC

  • "I can't overstate the momentum this partnership created. I've had guests before who came from a perspective of a deficit model when they met my students, but you all were the opposite. You met them where they were and pushed their thinking and musicianship. It was really a joy to watch how much fun you had playing with them. I have massive respect for musicians who are willing to share the stage with student musicians. You are all absolutely amazing. Students came away from each session with a renewed zest for learning and pushing themselves to achieve greater levels of musicianship and ideas. I can honestly say that this was the best classroom partnership I've ever had."

    Rachel Siegfried

    Rachel Siegfried