Meet Eljhaie Brathwaite of St. Thomas, V.I. - Musician, Performing Artist, Educator

Eljhaie Brathwaite hails from the beautiful islands of St. Thomas in the Virgin Islands. He is heading into his senior year of his undergraduate jazz studies at George Mason University (GMU) under the tutelage of Victor Provost. Music and pan have shaped Eljhaie’s life at an early age in that it aided in overcoming his childhood developmental condition that presented challenges for him while in elementary school. Music gave him a sense of confidence that he didn’t have elsewhere. The young Eljhaie was able to hold his own in music classes and also in the pan yard. As time went by, Eljhaie caught up with his peers in the classroom and excelled academically and knew that music was the contributing factor to this success.

Eljhaie has been playing the steel pan for about 13 years. He also plays the piano, percussion, and the trumpet. During the summer in St. Thomas, Eljhaie serves as an educator at B Natural Summer Music Camp, where he teaches children, ages 6 -12 years old, theory, piano, choir, percussion, and steel pan. While at GMU, he teaches steelpan and music theory at the Cultural Academy for Excellence (CAFE) under the direction of Ms. Lorna Green. His style of playing, arrangements, and compositions span a range of genres. With his many affiliations with a variety of ensembles, Eljhaie had the honor of performing at prominent venues such as Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola @ Lincoln Center in New York, the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C., the National Jazz Museum in Harlem, New York, Smithsonian National Museum of American History, and Twins Jazz Club in Washington D.C. In the Virgin Islands, Eljhaie performs individually and with various bands and combos.

Social media: Instagram- @eljhaie.musician;  Facebook- @Eljhaie Brathwaite