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| Middle School Jazz Academy Showcase Concert Jazz at Lincoln Center premieres its one-hour showcase concerts by students from the Middle School Jazz Academy, Jazz at Lincoln Center’s first formal instrumental instruction program on January 28th at 1:00pm in the Irene Diamond Education Center Frederick P. Rose Hall at Jazz at Lincoln Center. Thirteen students in the 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th grades, from four of the five boroughs of New York City were chosen by Jazz at Lincoln Center to be a part of the Middle School Jazz Academy. The program is provided tuition-free to students that may otherwise not be able to afford private lessons. The showcase concert will feature students demonstrating classroom activities as well as ensemble performances. This unique program offers a course of study including a series of music lessons and broader youth development activities. Middle School Jazz Academy takes place weekly on Saturdays, November through May, from 10am to 2pm; private lessons occur during the week. Students have the opportunity to meet Wynton Marsalis, Artistic Director, Jazz at Lincoln Center and other members of the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra and Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra. They also develop mentor relationships with practicing jazz musicians. Middle School Jazz Academy provides tickets for students and their families to attend Jazz at Lincoln Center concerts and educational events. All of these activities take place at Jazz at Lincoln Center’s new home, Frederick P. Rose Hall in the Irene Diamond Education Center located at Broadway at 60th Street. Each of the students was awarded a scholarship based on application, audition and parent interview. The accepted students work with a faculty, composed of acclaimed professional jazz musicians, who are equally qualified as educators. Other outstanding international performers will round out the faculty by serving as visiting artists, and student field trips to other arts institutions are planned. Middle School Jazz Academy Students, Inaugural 2006 Class Rashida Abraham, 7th grade, trumpet, Queens Hasani Arthur, 8th grade, trumpet, Brooklyn Robert Booker, 8th grade, drums, xylophone, Brooklyn Denisse Corporan, 6th grade, flute, Manhattan Yerko DiFonis, 7th grade, piano, Brooklyn Ariam Espinal, 7th grade, bass, Bronx Kevin Frias, 8th grade, guitar, Manhattan Joi Henry, 7th grade, clarinet, Jamaica Christopher Krasnow, 8th grade, trombone, piano, Manhattan Keefe Martin, 5th grade, trumpet, Brooklyn Sofia Mojica, 7th grade, bass, Bronx Yimin Peng, 8th grade, piano, Manhattan Aaron B. Witherspoon, 8th grade, piano, Manhattan Middle School Jazz Academy Faculty Eli Yamin, Director, Piano Eli Yamin is an alumnus of the Illinois Jacquet Big Band and was Musical Director for the 10th anniversary tour of Duke Ellington’s “Sophisticated Ladies, ” directed by Mercedes Ellington. A long-time teaching artist with the Lincoln Center Institute for the Arts in Education, Yamin is a jazz pianist, composer, educator and broadcaster. He co-founded the New York-based Jazz Drama Program and created and continues to perform “The Magic and Mechanics of Jazz, ” an interactive jazz education program initially presented by Young Audiences New York. Yamin received his Master’s Degree in Music Education at Lehman College, CUNY. Alvin Atkinson, Jazz Language Instructor A professional drummer for 15 years, Atkinson most recently served as Professor of Jazz Studies at the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg, Canada. He has conducted educational workshops for the Kennedy Center’s Harlem and Jazz Ambassadors tours. Adam Bernstein, Jazz Language Instructor Bernstein has directed middle school jazz programs for the past 13 years at the Berkeley Carroll School in Brooklyn, NY. A bassist, he also teaches music theory, jazz history and improvisation. Jamie Baum, Flute A flutist, composer and educator, Baum has taught privately since 1981. She has served in the U.S. State Department/Kennedy Center Jazz Ambassador Program, performing and giving master classes with a jazz trio in South America, and performs with the Jamie Baum Septet. Ravi Best, Ensemble Coach; Trumpet Best, a graduate of Howard and New York Universities, has taught trumpet privately since 1996 and toured and recorded with numerous artists, including the Duke Ellington Orchestra. He also has conducted geriatric and adolescent music therapy programs. Tom Dempsey, Guitar The author of two instructional books on jazz guitar, Dempsey has performed and taught for 17 years. He has composed numerous pieces of music for big band and has taught summer classes at the National Guitar Workshop since 1988. Jon Irabagon, Clarinet Jon has taught masterclsses in the United States, Costa Rica, Scotland and Japan and has severed as faculty at the Hartwick Summer Music Institute and Lagond Music School. A Juilliard graduate, Jon has played with Billy Joel, Tom Harrell, Wynton Marsalis and the Glenn Miller Orchestra. Richard Johnson, Piano Johnson, a former member of the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra, recently completed residencies with Jazz Aspen and the Thelonious Monk Institute. He holds an Artist Diploma in Jazz Performance from New England Conservatory, and created and regularly conducts “Jazz to Hip-Hop” workshops in schools. Warren Smith, Percussion A fixture on the jazz scene as a drummer and vibraphonist since the late 1940’s, Smith played his first gig in New York City with Kenny Burrell at Minton’s Playhouse in 1958. He has taught at SUNY Old Westbury since 1971 and directs Chelsea Performing Arts - Studio W.I.S. – a non-profit performance and rehearsal space in Manhattan. Deborah Weisz, Trombone Weisz, a freelance trombonist, composer and teacher, has performed with Broadway shows, chamber and orchestral groups, studio recordings for television and film, the big bands of Jimmy Heath, DIVA, and The NY/BMI Jazz Composers’ Workshop Orchestra. She has taught jazz composition, arranging and trombone at Rutgers University. David Wong, Bass A Juilliard graduate, Wong has taught jazz clinics at the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee and Northern Illinois University, and teaches bass privately. He has performed, among others, with the Wynton Marsalis Quartet and the Illinois Jacquet Big Band. write your comments about the article :: © 2005 Jazz News :: home page |