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Black Violin

Black Violin

Black Violin is the blend of classical, hip-hop, rock, R&B, and bluegrass music

Black Violin is the blend of classical, hip-hop, rock, R&B, and bluegrass music.  Accompanied by a drummer and a DJ, Black Violin (declared one of the “hottest bands of SXSW”) has been performing to standing-room-only crowds.  Named after an album by African-American preeminent jazz swing-era violinist Stuff Smith, Wil Baptiste and Kev Sylvester perform an average of 200 shows per year and have brought their music to 49 states and 36 countries.   Their groundbreaking collaboration has seen them play their music for everybody from the troops in Iraq to both the official President’s Inau...

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Bio

Full Bio

Black Violin is the blend of classical, hip-hop, rock, R&B, and bluegrass music.  Accompanied by a drummer and a DJ, Black Violin (declared one of the “hottest bands of SXSW”) has been performing to standing-room-only crowds. 

Named after an album by African-American preeminent jazz swing-era violinist Stuff Smith, Wil Baptiste and Kev Sylvester perform an average of 200 shows per year and have brought their music to 49 states and 36 countries.  

Their groundbreaking collaboration has seen them play their music for everybody from the troops in Iraq to both the official President’s Inaugural Ball and the Kids Inaugural in Washington, DC, where Barack Obama himself gave each a hearty hand-shake.  Individually and together, Black Violin has collaborated with the likes of P. Diddy, Kanye West, 50 Cent, Tom Petty, Aerosmith, Aretha Franklin and The Eagles.

Classically trained violinist Kevin “Kev Marcus” Sylvester and violist Wil “Wil B.” Baptiste first met up at their Fort Lauderdale high school before reuniting post-college to form Black Violin, which celebrates the synergy between classical and hip-hop music.

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Testimonials

A raucous, rousing, genre-busting performance piece that dares the audience to get up and dance!

Time Out New York Kids

Black Violin works hard, but makes it all look like play… Sometimes they play with the intense seriousness of orchestral soloists; at others they fiddle as if at a hoedown; at still others they strum the violin and viola like guitars.

N.Y. Times

Topics

Topics

An Evening With Black Violin

Videos

Videos

Black Violin Live at the Brooklyn Bowl "Virtuoso"
Black Violin - "A Flat"

Books

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News

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TESTIMONIALS

CLIENT TESTIMONIALS

The American Psychological Association was thrilled to have Dr. Antonia Novello as our speaker for the 2024 APA Convention. Dr. Novello was fantastic, and her presentation was a tremendous success. Thank you, Peter, for all your hard work in making this event such a resounding success.

American Psychological Association

For our annual Native American Heritage Month celebration, PDA Group arranged for John Echohawk to join us for a virtual moderated discussion. The program was thoughtful, engaging, and highly impactful for our audience of lawyers and professional staff. We are grateful for their partnership and look forward to working with them again.

Debevoise & Plimpton LLP

We have partnered with PDA Group on multiple successful events, including our charity luncheon with Lisa Edelstein and our Women’s Philanthropy Kickoff Event featuring Allegra Goodman. Their professionalism, expertise, and commitment to excellence make them an outstanding partner. Thank you for your exceptional work and continued support.

UJA-Federation

We have received so much fantastic feedback following our virtual event. It was an absolute success, and Sylvia Fowles was excellent. Thank you again to Sylvia and the entire team for your partnership!”

U.S. Bank

Kurt Warner was spectacular—he completely wowed the audience and solidified major leadership points. He was an amazing partner, and we will be talking about this experience for years to come. We will definitely leverage the PDA team for all of our speaking needs!”

Sysco Corporation

The events over the past two years went very well — everyone had a great time with Dr. Mark Esper in 2025, and Sam Hinkie led a very engaging Q&A with our Principal, Jean Reynolds, in 2024. Thank you for working with us these last two years; your support has been instrumental to the success of our programs!

Investcorp Strategic Capital Group

It was an absolute privilege to have Dr. Sanjay Gupta as our keynote speaker for the 2026 GME Leadership Conference. He delivered an outstanding address that resonated deeply and left a lasting impression on everyone in the room. The entire planning process was seamless and collaborative. It was a pleasure working together, brainstorming suggestions, and ultimately selecting the perfect fit for our event. We couldn’t have asked for a better experience.

HCA Healthcare

We had a fantastic day with Inge! She was very engaging with all those that attended. Her personal stories about the holocaust were very special and we were moved that she was willing to share them with everyone. Thank you again, PDA for all your hard work and dedication to make this program such a success!

Salt Lake Community College

It was a great pleasure to work with PDA Group! The communication was always prompt, friendly and helpful. We loved the speakers and events we booked through Mr. Peter Walker (PDA Group).

Western Michigan University

On behalf of myself and my organization Entertainment Unlimited the Campus Programming Board of Ferris State University, we thank you PDA and Dan for a successful event!! Dan was magnificent! Students really enjoyed the presentation. I know I did. Can’t wait to bring in more programs with PDA Group.

Ferris State University

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