New Canon Chamber Collective (Music of the Unsung America Series)

Music of the Unsung is an annual multi-event concert and conversation series that features a wide spectrum of Black musicians from the classical arts for and from the South Florida community, including Joseph Jones and Dwight Banks’ works. As a 2019 Knight Arts Challenge winner with lead funding from the John S. and James L Knight Foundation, Music of the Unsung America was launched by double bassist and entrepreneur Portia Dunkley. The mission of Music of the Unsung is to address the need for more diverse representation in South Florida in classical music arts. In 2021, Portia Dunkley co-founded, with Angel Refuse’, The New Canon Chamber Collective Inc. (an affiliate of UpBeat Miami), a non-profit, South Florida-based chamber ensemble, to further this mission.