Lucas A.

Bringing authenticity and uniqueness to every performance, lesson, and arrangement, Lucas creates a welcoming presence through any avenue. They are a jazz vocalist, vocal jazz ensemble arranger, and voice, viola, and piano teacher from Edmonds, Washington, currently based in Denton, TX. Influenced by the greats Carmen McRae and Betty Carter to lesser-known creative legends like Nancy King and Jay Clayton, Lucas improvises and arranges creatively outside of the straight-ahead jazz framework and performs outside of the genre as well. Lucas always sang around the house like a musical whirlwind at times but found their path when joining the jazz choir at their high school, where they then started to branch out as a soloist. This passion took them to the University of North Texas to study jazz voice, where they have gained extensive experience performing and arranging for themselves with a rhythm section. Lucas also self-accompanies on piano in pop and jazz styles and performed a three-hour set at Mercury Chophouse. They also sing classical, having won the WMEA Solo and Ensemble Bass Voice category in 2023 and performed in the opera Anne Bonny by Beige Cowell. They are both a Dean’s Excellence and an Undergraduate Jazz Voice Performance Award scholarship winner. Striving to make every student feel accepted and expressive through music, Lucas teaches voice, beginner viola, and beginner piano lessons. They began volunteering to teach fifth and sixth-graders viola lessons in the springs of 2022 and 2023. In the spring of 2024, they were honored to return to their high school to coach students for their jazz solo night. They currently teach across the Dallas/Fort Worth area with Starlight Music Lessons. As an arranger, Lucas had over ten of their vocal jazz ensemble arrangements performed at the high school and college levels. Spanning from straight-ahead swing to Neo Soul and singer-songwriter tunes, their work spans a variety of genres. Tightly voiced clusters in chord voicings and a strong focus on ensemble writing over extensively featuring soloists characterizes their work. Lucas is thrilled to be studying with professors Jennifer Barnes and Rosana Eckert and will graduate from college in 2027. If they are not drinking iced tea, you can find them performing with the UNT Jazz Singers this current academic year.