Don't Miss A Beat

Don't Miss A Beat
Don’t Miss A Beat was founded in 2008 by Ulysses Owens, Jr. and his family. Owens began playing drums at just two years old. Shortly thereafter his mother, Gwendolyn, enrolled him in classical piano lessons. Owens later attended Jacksonville’s Douglas Anderson School of the Arts, where he became part of their inaugural jazz program and graduated... read all

About Don't Miss A Beat

Don’t Miss A Beat was founded in 2008 by Ulysses Owens, Jr. and his family. Owens began playing drums at just two years old. Shortly thereafter his mother, Gwendolyn, enrolled him in classical piano lessons. Owens later attended Jacksonville’s Douglas Anderson School of the Arts, where he became part of their inaugural jazz program and graduated with a full scholarship to New York’s Juilliard School.

After graduating from Juilliard in 2006, Owens traveled the world as a jazz drummer, but one day he read about his hometown’s student dropout rate and other youth problems.

That’s when Owens and his family decided to act, and Don’t Miss A Beat (DMAB) was born.

Don’t Miss A Beat began with the singular objective—helping suspended youth stay in school so they wouldn’t “miss a beat.” Today, the program blends music, art, academic achievement and civic engagement to enhance the lives of children, teens, and their parents in Jacksonville’s At-Hope neighborhoods.

In 2018 DMAB beginning their process of producing Musical Theatre productions for the community outdoors during their community festival, and in 2019 they decided to start working with the Ritz Theatre and co-producing summer and holiday productions.