The following is a message from the CEO of A Dante Production. 

As we end 2022, I would like everyone that helped make Dante Tick. It is time to celebrate the arrival of another new year in our lives. New Year 2023 is almost upon us, evoking the hope of a bright, promising, and assuring future. With every New Year, we hope to grow closer to our cherished goals. There is no better time than this to wish all of you a HAPPY NEW YEAR! 

Questions to be answered as we charge into 2023:

  • What makes Dante Tick? 
  • What are we preparing ourselves for? 

We have developed a company to provide: 

  • Exceptional music entertainment and management to enrich and enhance the quality of life for our patrons.
  •  An infrastructure to meet the diverse needs of the citizens in North Central, Florida.
  • Concerts and live entertainment in a friendly and welcoming environment for visitors and residents.

Skill is the unified force of experience, intellect, and passion in their operation. 

The inclusion of new talent is a phenomenal asset, we welcome Pride, R&B Divas, and the Divas of Jazz. Just think they fit well with groups like Groov which on its own stands above the fray. Behind the scenes are some amazing people that you don’t hear about. (Let’s break it down).

Below are the people that make Dante tick:  

Here is why A Dante Production sounds so good during our concerts!  Maybe you’ve witnessed a show where the instruments were cranked to 10, but it all just sounded like crap.

Preparing the stage for a concert in the open air.

Bad sound at a gig can happen for many reasons. The good news is that despite the challenges that come from playing somewhere new, there’s a lot we do to make our live sound shine:

1. Leroy McClendon – He is our Sound Engineer.  Leroy checks the stage setup to see if the amplifiers, acoustic instruments, and microphones aren’t placed well, then he checks to see if he gets screeching feedback or level (volume) imbalances on stage. Here are two great rules of thumb.

  • A little closer to you than the other musicians
  • Facing your head (and not your knees)1.  He checks to see If you sing into a microphone, and make sure it’s always facing away from the stage monitors and venue speakers. Otherwise, the mic will start amplifying the speakers, which are already amplifying the mic, and you’ll get a very unpleasant—and loud—feedback loop.2.  He checks the venue setup. On stage, the sound should be optimized to make the musicians happy; in the venue itself, it’s all about getting a great sound for the crowd. For example, if the venue speakers are too close to the ground, the audience at the front will get blasted while the audience at the back hears a totally different tone. It never hurts to ask Leroy if we can shift some of the equipment around.3. Communication with Leroy is important. This is a big one. Leroy helps the band set up the stage and then controls the soundboard throughout the show. Want more vocals in the monitor? Just remember that the sound is in his hands.

4.  Microphone techniqueStandard vocal microphones If the singer’s not at the right distance from the mic, then the sound will suffer. And if you’re singing into this mic from a foot or two away, it can be impossible for Leroy to turn you up to audible levels.

5. Levels, EQing, and Effects.  There are many, many effects you can add to your sound, but just using the right levels (volume) and EQ settings can go a long way.  As a singer, you don’t want to add too much reverb which is a common mistake among vocalists.

6.  Equipment.  We put this at the end of the list because the venue’s equipment—the speakers, cables, soundboard, etc.—is usually outside of his control. Often, we just show up at a gig and must deal with what they have.

Bring your own mic. That way, you’ll know it hasn’t been dropped a million times, plus it’ll be easier to get up nice and close to that mic.

We show up early. That’ll give will give us a chance to test the equipment, find any problems and swap them out. It also gives you time in case you forget something and must run to your local music store to buy it and we have done this!

Dante as a company always has something new on the drawing board. The most recent addition is making Ms. Jeanine McAdams, the Music Director for the company.  Jeanine feels success usually comes to those who are too busy to be looking for it and she is busy.

Jeanine was born and raised in St. Paul, Minnesota.  She started learning piano at the age of 5 and did her first professional gig at age 14.  She is a Grammy Award and Gold Record recipient as a pianist/keyboardist/vocalist with the internationally renowned group The Sounds of Blackness. She has performed/recorded and toured with artists such as Prince, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, Brown Mark, Luther Vandross, Sinbad, Miles Jaye, Janet Jackson, and Najee.

Jeanine has also performed for various Christian artists for the House of Blues, Gospel Brunch at Disney Springs and shows at the Epcot Center, including Joyful – A Celebration of the Holidays.  Her Musical Director Theatre credits include The Gospel at Colonus, The Wiz, Sister Act, Once On This Island, Dreamgirls, and most recently ELF – The Musical and an upcoming documentary Born to Swing about the life of classical/Jazz pianist Lillette Harris. Her television credits include the Arsenio Hall Show, Byron Allen Show, Super Bowl Saturday Night, and Soul Train.  She also served in the Music Ministry establishing Youth choirs and Worship teams and works as an accompanist for Orange County Public.  

L.D. Robinson is the director of marketing, and she is both a creative and a marketing genius.  L.D. feels the only place where success comes before work is in the dictionary. The hours L.D. puts into designing our future are unbelievable, she has a creative mind, and we discuss my visions via phone, and she creates from there. L.D. left a highly visible job to start her own business and she is an asset to Dante Production.  L.D. is a creative genius and provides all the designs on social media and the Dante flyers. 

James A. Womack, Sr. 

James controls the promotions, venues, and all related matters.  James was an instrumental person in the revival of Dante Production, James saw a need to provide North Central Florida with some cultural entertainment.  James started JAW Promotions to be the advanced ARM in the establishment of various events. JAW Promotions is the first entity to locate a venue, make the arrangements, and make the date, and time for a concert before passing all the pieces to A Dante Production. 

What’s New for 2023?

S.W.I.T.C.H.  – S.W.I.T.C.H. is our new department responsible for the design and management of events–in other words, Event Planning. Is TIME ticking away as you plan your event?  S.W.I.T.C.H. will assist in your planning for your Wedding, Party, Anniversary, Networking, and/or any event you can think of. S.W.I.T.C.H. is headed by Ms. Donna Gray-Banks.

Final Message from the CEO

BIG THANKS to James Womack of JAW Promotions and Gary Johnson for keeping the dream alive. The articles in that popular online magazine, BLACK MEN IN AMERICA.COM are altered to perfection. Gary often talks me “off the ledge” when I am ready to call it quits.  He is the calming force within A Dante Production.

Dante Production, LLC was developed in the 1980’s time-frame.  The company was formed as a family company as a legacy company to allow the Dunham Family to always have a fallback means of employment. The growth of the company exceeded all expectations and became a household name in the DMV. The CEO’s move to Florida did not include the revival of the company, however, a need was recognized in North Central, Florida. This revival came with a new method of operation. The laws and regulations in Florida were different, and a new mold of what will make Dante tick had to be developed. The CEO had to be creative and remold some thought patterns. Back to the drawing board means back to work.

The changes needed to be included, social, political, technological, scientific, economic, or otherwise—require that we help navigate through new and increasingly complex legal landscapes, which profoundly impact the companies and municipalities for which we work and our communities. In many instances, we are responsible for helping shape those new musical concert landscapes. I must say, “thank you” to all the members and associates of Dante for your continued participation and enthusiasm in our professional community, and sponsors for your incredible support and advice.

“I’d rather attempt to do something great and fail than attempt to do nothing and succeed.”

Danté Productions CEO and Visionary Chauncey Dunham, talks about the year in review (2022) and what to look forward to in 2023.  Sit down and get a front row seat to the best entertainment choices in Central Florida.

Gary Johnson conducted an exclusive interview the Divas of Jazz. Meet Jeanine, Kisha, Alex and JoJo as they answer questions from Gary and an “invitation only” audience. Listen to the sacrifices and the “calculations” these ladies have to make as first rate musicians.

Posted July 24, 2022

What Makes Dante Tick?

A Dante Production believes in “continuous improvement” of our processes.  To that end we are making major changes in preparation for 2023.

The CEO of “A Dante Production” (Chauncey Dunham) is now on the Board of Directors at the Friends of Ormond Beach Performing Arts Center (PAC).

One of the MAJOR changes in the PAC is the renovation/modernization of the lobby, this effort is Major and Costly.

The Grand Opening will be something will be in 2023 and it will be spectacular. We will keep you up to date with the actual opening. It will be a BLACK-TIE event. A Dante Production is proud to call this venue HOME.   Ladero Design Works, LLC is on contract to develop a new website and marketing plan for this effort for The Friends of PAC.

As you know March is “Women’s History Month.”

Women’s History Month celebrates the often-overlooked contributions of women in history, society, and culture.  Additionally, it is the 5th anniversary of A Dante Production in FL. We have a surprise on March 25, 2023. If you live outside of FL, get your plane tickets early if you plan to come to FL.  March 25th, 2023.  The company has made unexpected headway in a very short period.  Let’s talk about the vision for 2023.

The Vision of A Dante Production for 2023

Music is a Social Experience. A Dante Production offers an introduction that gives equal treatment to world music, rock, popular music, R&B, and jazz, to give the public a thorough introduction to today’s rich musical world. The tools to form a personal appreciation and understanding of the power of music.

The feeling of the CEO is “Teamwork Makes the Dream Work” therefore he has developed a back-office team that consists of a marketing team, sound engineers, video personnel, promotion team, legal team & musical director(s).

Some new groups have been added and a change of strategies is also in place.

What’s NEW?:  The Divas of Jazz

JEANINE MCADAMS – PIANO/FOUNDER

Jeanine was born and raised in St. Paul, Minnesota.  She started learning piano at age 5 and did her first professional gig at age 14.  She is a Grammy Award and Gold Record recipient as pianist/keyboardist/vocalist with the internationally renowned group The Sounds of Blackness. She has performed/recorded and toured with artists such as Prince, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, Brown Mark, Luther Vandross.

ALEX BODYTKO SHAW – WOODWINDS 

Alex started playing music in 6th grade when she picked up the clarinet. In 8th grade, she learned to play the alto saxophone to perform in the school’s jazz band. Her love of music leads her to get her bachelor’s degree in Jazz Studies (tenor saxophone performance) at the University of Central Florida

JOELA OLIVER – BASS

Joela Oliver Is a Haitian female bassist born in Newark, New Jersey, and raised in Fort Pierce, Florida. Joela has had opportunities to open for several Grammy award-winning and nominated performing artists such as “The Indigo Girls” and “K. Michelle

KISHA PUGH – DRUMS

Kisha is a renowned professional musician and teacher.  She built her professional career in music playing at several high-status music venues such as Disney and Universal Studios.

Let’s talk about another new musical genius.

Bennie Yarbrough

Bennie Yarbrough is a smooth jazz saxophonist based in Orlando, FL. He has been playing the sax since he was 4 years old and got his first paid gig when he was 10. His musical influences range from Gerald Albright, Kirk Whalum, John Coltrane, and Grover Washington Jr. to Duke Ellington and Stevie Wonder, to name a few.  Bennie’s tone is laid-back, soulful, smooth, and mellow, like honey on the tongue.  Bennie enjoys spending time with his family, friends, and loved ones when he’s not playing the saxophone.

Also coming in 2023 is Dante’s Divas of R&B and Dante’s Pride.

This new all-female group can and will bring the house down. Dante Pride is flexible enough to play any type of music that you will find pleasing.  I like to think of ideas as potential energy. They’re wonderful, but nothing will happen until we risk putting them into action.

The CEO of A Dante Production believes in working smarter, not harder.

Music: Exclusive Interview with the CEO of A Dante Production

By Gary Johnson – Publisher (Black Men In America.com)

Gary Johnson had an impromptu conversation with Mr. Chauncey Dunham, the CEO of A Dante Production.  Let’s get right to it.

BMIA.com:  In a very short period, your company has become the premiere musical concert company in North Central, Florida.  How does that make you feel?

CEO:  Well, the company has been blessed with the title of being the premiere musical concert company in North Central Florida. It really took many people to make this happen.  Let’s start with promotions and venues.  JAW Promotions make the decisions as to what venue is going to be used and the time frame for the concert. Ladero Design Works, then develops the marketing plan which includes designing the flyers and developing the social media time frames.  Once this is done the Dante team develops the theme of the show and picks the musicians.

BMIA.com:  How many musicians and bands do you have or manage?

CEO:  A Dante Production currently has 4 bands and a host of singers.  However, many people assist with what goes on behind the scenes and on the drawing board.  A very good friend of Dante, Donna Gray-Banks came up with the phrase,” you have to pivot,” and that is now almost a daily thing.  When COVID hit we all were in limbo.  Should we stop or pivot?  We decided to pivot, hence was the development of Pay 2 View (P2V), which was embedded on the website, www.adanteproduction.com.  Then another new idea came about–a YouTube Channel, called “Dante’s Den.”  The purpose of the channel was both to interview the artist and people working behind the scenes.  Time has been against us as it relates to frequency, however, that will change soon.

BMIA.com:  While we’re on the topic of production, do you outsource your sound and video needs?  Or is that in-house?

CEO:  Dante has a sound crew, and a video crew.  Sometimes Dante has almost two dozen moving parts involved to deliver a concert.  From the initial idea on the drawing board to concert day.  It takes months, and in some cases a year of advanced planning to deliver a show.  Sometimes I go into isolation to vision a new concept.  That includes details such as lighting, weather conditions, which band is the right fit for a specific genre of music and the visuals associated with video.  On top of that, I must factor in the financials.  These productions aren’t FREE.  The result is that good music produces a kind of pleasure which human nature cannot do without, therefore it’s important to take the time to be thorough.

BMIA.com:  How do you find your talent?

CEO:  I’m always looking for talent.  All of us are.  It’s a collective effort on the part of the team.  New artists often approach me.  The artist is hoping for that one “Yes,” to counter all of the previous “No’s.”  The reality is that sometimes “No,” must be said.  “No” doesn’t always mean that the person is not good or doesn’t have talent.  “No” may mean, the timing for what you bring is not optimal or the chemistry is not right for the overall group or production.  Never let a few “No’s” stop you from competing and striving to live your dream.

BMIA.com:  How much do you know about your audiences?

CEO:  We know a lot, but we can know a lot more and we’re learning more by way of analytics which we can get from our website.  We watch the online concert viewers and much to our surprise, we have followers in New Zealand, Australia, Japan, and London.  Good music and performances have a universal language.

BMIA.com:  What keeps you up at night?

CEO:  That’s a very interesting questionMusic is the wine that fills the cup of silence. Many people live for today and others live for the next days, months and years. Music produces a kind of pleasure which human nature cannot do without, so the pleasure of developing a successful concert is what tells us that humans is greater than we realize. Some people have lives; some people have music.  A few years ago, I was new to this area.  I moved from the Washington, DC area to Florida, which provided life to a small city that had very little life.  As boredom set in, I fell back to my roots which was music and art.  Music expresses that which cannot be said and on which it is impossible to be silent.  That was a long way of saying, music keeps me up at night.

I want to personally thank everyone associated with A Dante Production.  Much thanks go to the bands, Dante’s Pride, Dante’s Dream, Groov, and Chris Clarke and friends.  We can never say enough about the singers, Lois Clarke Williams, Daphne Cooper, Scherezada Morales, Flo Logan, Diana Lewis, and the violin of Jaquay Pearce.

BMIA.com:  Is there anything question that I haven’t asked you that I should have asked?

CEO:  I don’t think so.  Thanks, Gary, for this interview and allowing me to express myself.

Gary’s After Interview ReflectionsThe most important part of the interview for me was the CEO’s answers to the final question:  “What keeps you up at night?”  He reflected that music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination, and life to everything.  That was a very “1970’s-like” reflective kind of answer.

Here are my other key take-aways:

  • The CEO strongly believes that change is needed (thanks in part to James Womack). A Dante Production as a company is not content to just sit back and rest on previous success.
  • This business is hard only because changes are being made daily and people have a hard time with change. The word “pivot” is now a part of our normal vocabulary, and it may be happening too fast for the masses. A year and a half after the beginning of the pandemic, we are once again seeing surges in COVID-related cases, largely due to the highly contagious Delta variant. This increases our need for relaxation to stimulate the brain, again our music can come into our lives.  The CEO believes that music brings us pleasure and releases our suffering. It can calm us down and pump us up.  Music helps us manage pain, run faster, sleep better and be more productive.

The CEO and Me

February 12, 2012

Dante has Developed a New Normal

The new normal for Dante is to adjust to our new boring life of being quarantined or put life into being stuck in the house. One night the idea came to me about using the talent we had and put them to work by developing a Concert Library.  This required some costly experiments. Online streaming a show is what many of the artists are doing however, you cannot correct any imperfections. Therefore, back to the drawing board. Finally, all the pieces came together.

During 2019 and 2020 we had developed a FANTASTIC group of musicians and singers. Now we had to be creative and find an outlet that provides the proper backdrop for an online concert.

Now it is 2021 and all the pieces came together, and some new things were added. Having the proper team members is so especially important, our team has 23 people which includes: Film Crew, Sound Engineer, four bands, and 6 singers. Believe me, that is a lot of moving parts. Dante’s Den was implemented on YouTube.

The newest addition to the Dante team is Ms. Jaquay Pearce, Jaquay (juh-kway) Pearce was first introduced to the Dante Team in December 2020 and she proved to be amazing.

 Check adanteproduction.com and Dante’s Den on YouTube. 

Click here or on the picture below to watch an interview with Jaquay Pearce.

 
Dante Productions was started in the 1980’s based on a group of men in Philadelphia wanting to go skiing. They went to upstate New York and it was recognized after some hours on the slopes you return at the lodge and there was nothing to do but drink and talk.  Fashion shows and other entertainment events were created and Dante Productions was carving out a nice reputation.
Chancey Dunham, the creative visionary was sidetracked with family obligations and other challenges in life and over the years, Dante was shelved several times.
Fast forward to today.  Chauncey has recruited the talents of Ms. Kristen Smith to take the position of President and Ms. Marquel Hayes as Vice President and Chauncey moved in the position of Chief Operation Officer. This move allows for the new growth to include a stage show management segment of the company. The JLB Sun Group still retains the overall Company management to control the financial stability stability of the day to day operations.
Chauncey Dunham, COO Dante Productions
Here are some links featuring Dante Productions and their roster of talent:

To learn more about Dante Productions click here to visit the official Dante Production websiteClick here to visit the Dante Production Facebook page.