YOUNG ARTISTS – THE MUSIC STAND

The Music Stand Young Artist Excellence Award launched in 2024. Young Artists are recognized for outstanding performance, professionalism, commitment, discipline & character. Young Artists receive an honorarium to support their endeavors. The Music Stand Young Artists show, launched in 2025, provides an opportunity for young artists to curate a performance, showcase their craft on a professional stage, and broaden their fanbase.

Thanks to everyone who supported The Music Stand Young Artists: Jazz, Soul & Flow on July 24, 2025 featuring young artists Enyonam Osae, Laesio Littlejohn, Fiona Feil & Talyah Thomas. It was a monumental night and powerful show!

2025

ENYONAM OSAE
Oberlin Conservatory of Music

Enyonam Osae is a powerful young vocalist, composer, and storyteller whose music draws from the heart of jazz, soul, and her West African roots. A 2025 recipient of The Music Stand Young Artist Award, she is being recognized for her extraordinary artistry, emotional depth, and leadership as an emerging voice in contemporary vocal music.

A recent graduate of Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts and a 2025 YoungArts Winner with Distinction, Enyonam is set to begin her studies at Oberlin Conservatory of Music this fall, where she will major in Jazz Voice under the mentorship of LaTanya Hall. Her sound, inspired by artists like Samara Joy, Lalah Hathaway, and Abbey Lincoln, is defined by clarity, honesty, and a deep commitment to connection, both musical and human.

As a first generation Ghanaian American, Enyonam walks a unique artistic path, weaving tradition with innovation. She has performed across genres from gospel and contemporary ensembles to jazz combos and a cappella and believes in using music to tell the truth, touch hearts, and elevate unheard stories.

LAESIO LITTLEJOHN
University of Miami

An innate & enthralling electric & upright bassist from Washington, D.C., Laesio Littlejohn majestically tames the bottom & keeps it in the pocket. In 2013, when he was 7 years old, Laesio encountered numerous electric basses, by happenstance, & after learning about the basses from their owner he instantly insisted upon starting bass lessons. Laesio has been educated & mentored by prominent & renowned bassists & musicians from Washington D.C., New York, California, Dallas, Texas & areas in‑between & has found profound inspiration in the likes of Paul Chambers, Matt & Tim Ramsey, Dion Kerr, Burnis Travis III & Christian McBride.

Deemed a 2024 & 2025 Outstanding Bassist at Jazz At Lincoln Center’s Essentially Ellington Jazz Orchestra competition, a Downbeat Student Music Awards 2025 winner in the Blues/Pop/Rock Soloist category & a 2024 Outstanding Performance – Jazz Soloist awardee, a 2025 winner in the Original Composition category & a 2024 Outstanding Original Composition awardee & chosen as the bassist for the 2024 & 2025 National Endowment for the Arts’ & Herbie Hancock Institute of Jazz’s National All‑Star Peer‑to‑Peer Jazz Sextet Tours in Rhode Island & Iowa. Furthermore, selected as the recipient of both the Jazz Education Network’s 2024 Dr. Lou Fisher Co‑Founder Scholarship, & the 2024 YoungArts Winner with Distinction in Jazz Bass award. Texas All‑State Bassist, 4 years straight.

In 2023, Laesio was selected to perform with the Vail Jazz All‑Stars Orchestra at the Vail Jazz Party in Vail, Colorado & received a full scholarship, in 2023 & 2024, to attend the Jazz Port Townsend Workshop. In 2022, Laesio was designated as the bassist for the Monterey Jazz Festival’s Next Generation Jazz Orchestra & performed on the Jimmy Lyons Main Stage, he was also a YoungArts Honorable Mention awardee & awarded a 2nd consecutive full merit scholarship to Berklee College of Music’s Summer Jazz Workshop. In 2021, Laesio was awarded the initial full merit scholarship to Berklee College’s Summer Jazz Workshop & was selected as the winner of the Xi Zeta Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Incorporated’s & the Ivy Foundation’s Youth Arts Contest in the Middle School ‑ Instrumental Music Division.

A 2025 rising freshman attending University of Miami’s Frost School of Music on a full scholarship & majoring in Media Scoring and Production, Laesio’s future aspirations are to graduate from college & graduate school &, ultimately, become one of the best composers, producers & musicians, who happens to play bass, on the planet! See more of Laesio at: LaesioLittlejohn.com, LorenLittlejohn.com or @LaesioOnBass on IG, Facebook & YouTube.

2024

FIONA FEIL
Pace University

Fiona Feil is currently at Pace University in New York working towards her B.F.A. in Commercial Dance. She trains intensely in all styles and performs in dance showcases through the Sands College of Performing Arts at Pace University. She has been dancing since age 3 and trained at The Dallas Conservatory in Frisco, Texas starting in her sophomore year of high school throughout her senior year. Fiona is advanced in Ballet, Contemporary, Jazz, and Modern training as well as some Ballroom, Hip-Hop, and Tap throughout her dance career. She attended the Juilliard School Summer Intensive in 2023 as well as the Joffrey Ballet School Summer Intensive in 2019 on scholarship. She hopes to become a background dancer for big name artists on tour, dance in music videos, and be on broadway.

TALYAH THOMAS
Texas Christian University

Talyah Thomas is a Houston native and a student at Texas Christian University’s School of Music, where she is pursuing a B.A. in Vocal Studies with a minor in Arts Leadership and Entrepreneurship. She studies under the guidance of Dr. Gwendolyn Alfred and Dr. Paige Jackson.

At TCU, Talyah is an active performer, singing with the TCU Women’s Choir (Cantiamo), Vocal Jazz Ensemble, Theatre TCU Black Excellence, and the Word of Truth Gospel Choir. Prior to attending TCU, she earned recognition in UIL Solo and Ensemble, TMEA All‑Region Choir, and Texas Thespians. In recent seasons, she performed in the world premiere of Promise of the Heart, a jazz‑soul chamber opera by Arlington and Hope Jones. Additionally, she performed in the Pirates of Penzance by W.S. Gilbert and A. Sullivan in the title role as Edith. She also is a founding member of the new Black Musicians Association at TCU.

A well‑rounded and passionate musician, Talyah has studied both classical and jazz music intensively and has experience with digital recording and music production. She also offers private voice lessons, with a focus on Jazz, Classical, Worship & Gospel, and Contemporary styles. As she continues to grow as an artist, Talyah is excited to expand her work in teaching, performing, producing, and composing.