Lawrence High School senior Laura-Simone Martin has been selected as a 2023 Mercer County Young Woman of Achievement by the Mercer County Commission on The Status of Women. She will be recognized at a reception on March 21 at Mercer Oaks Clubhouse in West Windsor.
Martin was nominated for the award based on her accomplishments during her high school career. She is the founder and president of the first LHS Black Student Union and vice president of Students for Social Activism.
Also a musician, she is a bass player and singer who has performed at prestigious venues like the Monterey Jazz Festival with the Next Generation Women in Jazz Combo and the 2021 VAIL Jazz Festival with the Vail Jazz Workshop Allstars.
In addition, Martin has performed at Dizzy’s Club, Minton’s Playhouse, Birdland Jazz Club, South Jazz Kitchen and Tribeca Film Festival.
She currently plays with Princeton University’s Creative Large Ensemble, the Jazz at Lincoln Center Youth Orchestra and the Youth Orchestra of Central Jersey. She is also part of the 2022 Carnegie Hall National Youth Jazz Orchestra (NYO Jazz), and the National Association of Music Education All-National Honor Jazz Ensemble.
Martin is the founder of the Queen Amina Club, an after-school music and mentorship program at Lawrence Intermediate School for female instrumentalists in grades 4-8.
She wrote a grant proposal to acquire funding for the program, which will host six well-renowned guest artists this year, including jazz performers Tia Fuller and Camille Thurman. The club will also perform in various school and community events.
According to her grant application, the club was founded in the fall of 2021 with the purpose of creating sisterhood and bringing jazz education through weekly meetings that focus on music performance, improvisation, creativity and exposure to women composers and musicians from the past and present.
While all female composers and musicians are discussed, there is an intentional emphasis and celebration of Black women composers and instrumentalists. The club is named after the warrior queen of Zazzau of Nigeria, Queen Amina (1533-1610).
During the 2021-2022 school year, Queen Amina Music Club consisted of 28 girls (12 violins, 5 violas, 4 cellos, 1 flute, 3 alto saxes, and 3 trumpets) and focused on learning the blues, improvisation and small ensemble performance.
Martin said she specifically creates all arrangements for this instrumentation and ability level. An integral part of this curriculum is exposure to various role models and mentorship.
In 2021, Tia Fuller and Katie Thiroux volunteered their time to work with the students over zoom. The season concluded with two performances, one for our community arts festival and one during the Lawrence Intermediate School Spring Concert.
“I am supremely committed to this endeavor, the opportunity to serve my community, my school district, mentor young girls, and play the music I love, all while uplifting important issues of diversity and inclusion in music education, has been a driving force throughout my high school years,” said Martin in her grant application.
Lawrence High School senior Laura-Simone Martin has been selected as a 2023 Mercer County Young Woman of Achievement.,
