In the Feb. 26 issue of The New York Times, a profile was published of The Hartt School alum Brandee Younger. The Hempstead, New York-native is a harp player who graduated from the University studying Harp Performance and Music Management.

However, she has made a career in playing and recording jazz music.

One thing the profile spends time on is her slow but strong transition from classical to jazz, and how her race played a part in this major change. The profile also touches on her jazz-influenced path and even gives us a little insight into her life before The Hartt School leading up to her stunning career.

via @nytimes: Jazz harpist Brandee Younger '06 found early inspiration #atHartt: https://t.co/lUxdpnldIo @harpista pic.twitter.com/guQzCjk2jP

— The Hartt School (@harttschool) March 2, 2016

The profile begins with a teenage Younger in her Long Island hometown looking at the bimonthly Harp Column Magazine. Already interested in the instrument, she came across an African-American harpist who goes by the name Dorothy Ashby.

The profile stresses that Younger found inspiration and clarity by seeing a black harpist receive that amount of praise. This fuelled Younger’s passion to play the harp professionally.

After her teenage years, she was a full-time scholarship student at the University of Hartford. She started at The Hartt School as a classical major. Younger explained to The New York Times that she didn’t fit in socially at the University.

“I was a black girl playing classical music on the harp. I stuck out like a sore thumb,” she said.

Younger was approached by Jackie McLean, the director of the jazz program at The Hartt School, and encouraged her to sit in on the master jazz classes on campus. Younger sat in for four years. She did not join the group but she watched, observed and fell in love with jazz music.

During Younger’s graduate years at New York City University, Ravi Coltrane approached her and asked her to perform at his mother’s memorial. Younger said yes to the service and played many Alice Coltrane hits such as “Rama Rama” and “Blue Nile.” This would go down as Younger’s debut performance that gave her a spark to continue on with her music.

Younger’s sophomore album “Wax & Wane” is now available.