Jaida Hawkins is a music educator, violinist, and arts advocate dedicated to expanding access to high-quality string education for underrepresented communities. She earned a Bachelor of Music Education from Stetson University and a Master of Music Education from Boston University. Through her teaching, performance, and academic experiences, Jaida is adept in string education, program development, and curricular design.
Mrs. Hawkins’ teaching experiences include orchestra, guitar, youth symphonies, general music, and private lessons. As a Florida native, she contributed to orchestra curriculum development for Polk County Schools, helped reinstate the Polk County Youth Orchestra, and created a program that provided free or reduced-cost private string instruction to middle school students. During her time in FL, she increased string enrollment, retention, and admission into competitive programs for her students.
As a performer, Mrs. Hawkins was an active member of the Lakeland Symphony Orchestra and Winter Haven Theater Pit Orchestra. Her performance experiences include working with Metropolitan Opera conductors on Vero Beach Opera productions of Madame Butterfly and Barber of Seville, European orchestral tours, and collaborations with artists and public figures including Black Violin, Quentin Earl Darrington, Eric Darius, Glenda Hatchett, Susan L. Taylor, Michael W. Smith, and Sandi Patty. She was also a founding member of the Golden Swan String Quartet, which performed at events throughout the state.
Since relocating to Boston, she has continued to maintain her commitment to arts advocacy through BU’s Prison Outreach Initiative which aims to empower incarcerated individuals through music, poetry, and movement, in addition to volunteering to maintain a general music course for students with disabilities at Madison Park Vocational High School.
