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It’s safe to say that this is a banner year for ����AV College of Visual and Performing Arts alumna Carlehr Swanson. On February 24, 2024, Swanson returned to George Mason’s Fairfax Campus to perform an album preview concert for her upcoming EP, “Growing Pains.” Then, on June 29, Swanson was officially crowned Miss Virginia 2024.

the day after her crowning as Miss Virginia, Swanson shared that she’s been a participant in the pageant organization for 10 years. Remarking that she found the company of the other participants and their community service commitments to be truly inspiring and one of her favorite parts of the Miss Virginia organization, Swanson discussed her own community service initiative, which began in eighth grade.

After an injury, Swanson’s beloved grandmother was recovering in a rehabilitation center, where Swanson would visit and perform to help lift her grandmother’s spirits. As more and more patients from the center began to gather for these impromptu concerts, Swanson began inviting friends and classmates to join her for these events, to provide an even more engaging experience for the residents. Inspired by the power of music to build community, express deep emotions, and support healing, Swanson founded “Music is Unity” an organization dedicated to spreading musical joy through free performances at schools and nursing homes.

“Music has always been something really close to my heart, and I found that during hard times in my life, music had been that positive outlet for me,” said Swanson. As part of her coming year of Miss Virginia responsibilities, Swanson hopes to start new “Music Is Unity” clubs and initiatives in schools across Virginia, empowering students to share the transformative power of music, creating connections, and supporting their communities.

Now a third year PhD student at the University of Virginia, Swanson’s time at George Mason helped to set the stage for her continued growth and success as a performer, speaker, and entrepreneur. As a student of Darden Purcell, the director of Jazz Studies in the , Swanson explored advanced vocal techniques and built upon her already impressive talents, performing with the talented student ensembles led by Dr. Purcell.

Even after Swanson graduated from George Mason, she maintained close ties with her alma mater. Her new EP was partly funded by her win of the 2023 Young Alumni Creative Development Award from the Young Alumni Commissioning Project, an initiative of George Mason’s College of Visual and Performing Arts. Recipients of certain awards from the project are afforded a fully produced event in a George Mason venue to launch their work, in addition to funding to support their project.

At Swanson’s concert in February, composer, performer, and George Mason professor Jim Carroll led a pre-show conversation with the artist. Swanson shared that one of the many valuable elements of her education at George Mason was the hands-on practice of preparing for performances. Learning how to make sure that charts were ready and could be easily read by other musicians during performances helped strengthen Swanson’s ability to approach events and gigs with other musicians with a higher level of confidence and ease.

As an intern with the Jazz Studies Program in the Dewberry School of Music, Swanson learned about the nuances of promotion and marketing, helping to prepare materials and social media content that would catch the eye and drive ticket sales for various concerts. These experiences supported Swanson as she pursued her graduate education, allowing her to promote and manage her performances more successfully and teaching her peers these essential skills as they built their careers.

With her yearlong , Swanson will continue to share her signature kindness, positivity, and determination with communities throughout the state. ��