Joshua Meredith, a senior at Woodward Academy, has been named a winner of the Moises Jam Sessions, a music competition.
17-year-old Meredith – who is a drummer, singer, and keyboardist – won for his cover of pianist Cory Henry’s song “Dance.” He produced the song using Moises, which is an AI-powered music platform.
“The competition called for a cover or remix of the song ‘Dance’ by Cory Henry,” Meredith said in an emailed statement. “I chose to do a full cover so I could use all of my musical abilities. I played drums on the track, sang lead vocals, recorded background harmonies, and played keys. It was a true Ray Charles style moment of layering instruments.”
Meredith said he found out that he had been named the winner one day after school at Chick-fil-A with his friends. He said he immediately called his mom, who screamed with delight on the phone.
“I was in complete shock,” he said. “I originally did the cover just for exposure, and I ended up winning. It was an unbelievable feeling.”
According to a news release from Woodward Academy, Meredith will receive $10,000 in cash for his efforts, as well as professional studio equipment and a trip to the National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM) Show in Anaheim, Calif. this coming January.
In honor of his win, Meredith was also featured on a billboard in Times Square. He and his family flew to New York City on Dec. 15 to see the billboard in person.
“I’m excited about all of the winnings, especially the opportunity to invest in my future,” Meredith said. “I plan to use the money toward college tuition since I was accepted to Berklee College of Music on October 15th.”
Meredith said he has been dreaming about attending Boston’s Berklee College of Music since he was seven years old. This summer, he spent five weeks at Berklee’s Aspire Summer Program, which solidified his decision.
“I used to watch Berklee YouTube videos all day, especially those featuring their drummers, and I knew I wanted to change the world through music,” he said.
