NEW ORLEANS – The Second Line Arts Collective (SLAC) will mark a milestone year this June alongside the return of its flagship Sanaa Music Workshop, a two-week intensive designed to prepare young New Orleans musicians not just as performers, but as working professionals in a music-driven economy.
The 2026 Sanaa Music Workshop will run June 8–19 from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. at the George and Joyce Wein Jazz & Heritage Center, culminating in a final performance at 7:00 p.m. June 19 at the Ellis Marsalis Center.
Sanaa reflects a model SLAC has built since its founding in 2017, combining artistic training with business education to address a persistent gap in the local economy: while New Orleans’ music culture fuels tourism, conventions, festivals, restaurants and the broader hospitality sector, the artists behind that economic engine often lack access to the tools needed to sustain long-term careers.
The workshop brings together musicians ages 14–24 for an intensive, two-week experience structured around daily performance training and professional development.
This year’s workshop features guest artist and Sanaa alumnus Brian Richburg who is a drummer, producer and composer. He attended Sanaa from 2017 to 2019, earned scholarships to Berklee College of Music and The Juilliard School and has performed and recorded with artists including Wynton Marsalis, Jon Batiste and Chief Adjuah. He is also the founder of the band New Legaxy.
Second Line Arts Collective Alumni Outcomes and Industry Impact
Other notable alumni include:
- Cam Clark, who attended from 2017 to 2021, is now an international touring trumpeter and vocalist and a member of Cha Wa, and has also worked as a music teacher at KIPP from 2022 to 2024 while serving on the Second Line Arts board.
- Zahria Sims, a 2022–2023 participant, performs saxophone in PJ Morton’s band and leads the Zahria Sims Collective.
- Marigny Hemenway, who attended from 2023 to 2025, has built a career as a jazz vocalist while founding Hemenway Relations, a public relations firm, and now serves as both a Second Line Arts board member and Recording Academy member.
- James Jordan, a 2024 participant, debuted as a bandleader at Jazz Fest 2026, released his debut album Reflections, and has also worked as a medical assistant and EMT.
Second Line Arts Collective: Founded by Working Musicians
The Second Line Arts Collective was built from direct experience within the industry. Co-founders Gregory Agid and Darrian Douglas both developed their careers as working musicians and educators in New Orleans, grounding the programming in both local tradition and the realities of the modern music business.
Agid, who serves as executive director, is a New Orleans-based multi-instrumentalist and jazz clarinetist who performs internationally with GRAMMY award-winning artist Michael Bublé, Delfeayo Marsalis’ Uptown Jazz Orchestra and his own Gregory Agid Quartet. A protégé of Alvin Batiste, Ellis Marsalis and Kidd Jordan, and a graduate of NOCCA, he has emphasized the importance of pairing artistic training with business literacy for emerging musicians.
SLAC Year-Round Expansion
SLAC is also expanding beyond its workshop model through participation in a new residency initiative at the Andre Cailloux Center for Performing Arts and Cultural Justice.
SLAC has been selected as one of four members of the inaugural cohort of The Choir, a 10-month artist residency designed to support cultural leaders whose work strengthens communities through creativity, wellness and social impact. The program provides participating organizations with extended access to programming opportunities, creative resources and community engagement initiatives.
Through that residency, SLAC plans to expand Sanaa into a year-round model that extends beyond the two-week intensive, incorporating ongoing mentorship, education and professional development.
As the organization enters its second decade, that expansion reflects a broader goal: ensuring that the city’s next generation of musicians is equipped not only to contribute to New Orleans’ cultural economy, but to sustain careers within it.
