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| Miraflores Academie - Spring Student Concerts Sunday May 6, 2007 Marcia Migt's Miraflores Music Academie will perform their Spring concerts at Church of the Redeemer 123 Knight Dr. San Rafael. Beginning at 1:15 pm, 3:00 and 5 pm the three student concerts will feature Saxophone and Flute Ensembles as well as solo Piano performances in both jazz and classical musical forms. Based in the Bay Area, Miraflores Academi is a preeminent private school that has been the foundation for some of Marin's best musical talent since 1988, as current and graduated students, e.g. Jeff Derby, Jaimeo Brown, Alex Baky, J.J.Byars, Lou Wiskus, Robby Marshal, Isabella Quereshi, Zach Gunsell, Dan Birch, Bram Kincheloe, Elecia Strauss, Seth Paris, Kristina Hoffman, Andrew Capra and Salvador Santana, evidence. These graduates, and many more, were selected for prestigious musical performance groups like the International Monterey High School All-star Jazz Band, California High School All-State Band, California High School All-State Concert Band, the San Francisco Jazz High School Allstars and attend a number of institutions such as Oberlin College, Sarah Lawrence, Berklee School of Music, the New School to Cal Arts, Manhattan School, NYU, USC and UCLA or performing professionally with such names as Bill Watrus, Mingus Big Band, and Greg Tardy. The array of award-winning students from Miraflores have performed in such events as the Duke Ellington Festival, Monterey Jazz Festival, the International Association of Jazz Educators' Convention, San Jose Jazz Festival, San Francisco Jazz Festival, San Rafael's Italian Street Painting Festival, et al. A proponent of teaching from the learning modality of the student, her style evolves from part Musician, part Educator and part Intuitive. This diverse approach speaks to the range and flexibility of Marcia's abilities and gifts as a classical/jazz,performer/composer. With a rich musical heritage (her family of musicians who performed extensively throughout the Midwest) she started studying piano, saxophone and flute at a very early age, and teaching from the ago of 13. Receiving her Bachelor of Music from Drake University she was selected to be an Artist-in-Residence for the National Endowment of the Art's 'Jazz Artist in Schools' Program. These residencies ranged from the Blackfoot Indian Reservation in Montana to jazz clinics in Iowa, Wisconsin, North Dakota, New York, Arizona and Louisiana. During many of her residencies, her practice was to invite artists from other disciplines, poets, dancers, mimes, musicians and actors, bringing the “live” component of music/arts into the classroom and training teachers to use the arts in basic skills education. Her extensive professional teaching background includes Artist/Composer in Residence at San Pedro Elementary School (1991-97) and Master Teacher at Miracle Music School (1988-2003). She has developed curriculum that included parental involvement in a child's musical education development. Marcia's multiple talents have brought her several grants for a variety of projects e.g. using music/arts for therapy in hospitals, retirement centers and residential care facilities. A highlight for her was the 1992 Bay Area Music Awards performance with her Bay Area Kids. One of the most sought after master music instructors in the San Francisco Bay Area, 2003 saw her chosen as Project Chairwoman for the African American Jazz Caucus K-12 Alternative Jazz Ed Concepts and Venues Project. “In my opinion there's a real time balance in the musical education of children and performing. The preparation that goes into practicing needs to be actualized through live performance.”, says Migt, “At Miraflores we teach more than music technique or improvisation, we teach an appreciation for the creative process and product. We use the arts and creative muscle to develop critical thinking skills.” A multi-instrumentalist, composer, producer and educator, la Maestra's most recent performances include the 2005 International Association of Jazz Educators' Convention with the African American Jazz Caucus AllStar Big Band (and was the 2004 Featured Artist performing with the Historically Black Colleges' University Allstar Band). The only female saxophonist/flutist with Dr. Anthony Brown and the Asian American Orchestra playing the Monterey Jazz, Stern Grove and Fillmore Jazz Festivals last year; as well as performing with Wayne Wallace and Pete Escovedo at Vallejo's 2004 Jazz Festival With skills that cross multiple genres, this first-call session musician recently recorded with Dr. Brown and the Asian American Orchestra on his Gershwin project, and performed with the Northern California Lighthouse Singers 25th Anniversary conducted by Helen Stevens and Stephen Roberts. Her latest project-as-producer is Passing the Baton: the Miget-Redd Session Part1;. A Member of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences her performance pedigree includes multiple appearances with Carlos Santana, and such notables as Freddy Redd, Larry Ridley, Jimmy Cobb, Buddy Baker, Kenny Barron, Orestes Vilato, Frank Foster, Pete Escovedo, Donald Byrd, Tyrone Hill of Sun Ra's Arkestra, Anthony Brown and the Asian American Orchestra, Carl Perazzo, Phish, Wayne Wallace, John Santos, John Handy, Babatunde Lea, Abel Sanchez, Jorge Santana and the SF Kids, Jaimeo Brown and Dartanyan Brown. She has opened for Chick Corea, Kenny Loggins, Phoebe Snow and performed on MTV with Rickie Lee Jones. She has been the featured performer with the James Cleveland Choir at the Gospel Music Workshop of America; in a 2003 Jam Session Tribute to Oscar Peterson at the Toronto International Association of Jazz Educators' Convention. write your comments about the article :: © 2007 Jazz News :: home page |