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Monk All-Star Sextet Grammy Press ReleaseFor Immediate Release
THE GRAMMY FOUNDATION® SELECTS STUDENTS FROM ACROSS
THE UNITED STATES TO PARTICIPATE IN THE PRESTIGIOUS
GRAMMY®
JAZZ ENSEMBLES
PROGRAM
Past
GRAMMY Jazz Ensembles CDs Now On Sale
At Amazon, iTunes, Napster, and Rhapsody
SANTA MONICA, Calif.
(Dec. 15, 2010) - The GRAMMY Foundation®
(www.grammyintheschools.com) announced today that 30
talented high school students from across the United States have
been selected for positions in the 2011
GRAMMY® Jazz Ensembles. Their selection
launches them into the spotlight surrounding the 53rd Annual GRAMMY
Awards, and provides them with unparalleled opportunities to perform
in front of some of music's biggest names. Since 1993, the GRAMMY Foundation
has provided students with this extraordinary musical experience. The
students, representing 30 cities and 12 states, will travel to Los Angeles
for a weeklong musical adventure under the direction of Justin DiCioccio
of the Manhattan School of Music, Dr. Ron McCurdy of the University
of Southern California Thornton School of Music and Dr. Leila Heil of
Colorado State University. Many past members of the GRAMMY Jazz Ensembles
go on to enjoy thriving careers as jazz musicians, including several
past selectees who are leading bands, including Peter Cincotti (2001),
current GRAMMY Nominee for Best Instrumental Composition Gerald Clayton
(2002), Grace Kelly (2008), and Aaron Parks (2000).
"Our GRAMMY Jazz Ensembles
program is a hallmark of the GRAMMY Foundation, and it is truly unique
in that it brings together remarkable high school vocalists and instrumentalists
from across the country to create a jazz choir, combo and band in the
span of a little over a week," said GRAMMY Foundation and Recording
Academy® President/CEO Neil Portnow. "It's
a highlight of GRAMMY Week to experience the talent, dedication and
excitement of our GRAMMY Jazz Ensembles members, and it is inspiring
to hear the seamless musicality with which these young artists play
with their peers as well as with GRAMMY-nominated and GRAMMY-winning
artists. The GRAMMY Jazz Ensembles program really brings to life the
GRAMMY Foundation's mission of fostering the next generation of music
and its makers."
The Ensembles will perform
at various GRAMMY Week events including - for the second year-
an appearance at GRAMMY In The Schools®
Live! - A Celebration of Music & Education,
sponsored by the Ford Motor Company Fund. This special evening,
which is open to the public, will showcase the Ensembles, along with
student alumni from GRAMMY Camp and GRAMMY Signature Schools, with
special guest artists on Feb. 9, 2011, at USC in the Los Angeles
Grand Ballroom. The Ensembles will offer another public performance
at Spaghettini's Italian Grill & Jazz Club
with a special guest artist
on Feb. 10.
The Ensembles will again record
at the legendary Capitol Studios & Mastering in Hollywood, Calif.,
courtesy of the EMI Music Group. GRAMMY Jazz Ensembles
CDs from 2007, 2008, 2009, and 2010 are available for purchase
at online music outlets such as
Amazon, iTunes, Napster, and Rhapsody.
The GRAMMY Jazz Ensembles will
also perform again this year at the MusiCares®
Person of the Year tribute on Feb. 11, which will honor Barbra
Streisand. As a grand finale, the Ensembles will attend the
53rd Annual GRAMMY Awards on Feb. 13 as guests of The Recording
Academy and will perform at the GRAMMY Celebration®
after-party.
The GRAMMY Jazz Ensembles selectees
are eligible for more than $2 million in college scholarships made possible
through the GRAMMY Foundation's college partners: Berklee College of
Music, Manhattan School of Music, the New School for Jazz and Contemporary
Music, and USC Thornton School of Music. In addition, each selectee's
school will receive a professional cymbal courtesy of the Zildjian
Company.
The 2011 GRAMMY Jazz Ensembles
are listed by each student's name, hometown, school, and instrument
or voice:
GRAMMY Jazz Choir
Emma Davis West Linn, Ore. West Linn High School Soprano
Angelea Taylor Pittsburgh, Pa. High School for the Creative & Performing Arts Soprano
Hope Flores Los Angeles Los Angeles County High School for the Arts Alto
Kaia Lagoni Fort Collins, Colo. Rocky Mountain High School Alto
Taylor Daniel Germantown, Tenn. Briarcrest Christian School Tenor
Daniel Stanfill Manhattan Beach, Calif. Mira Costa High School Tenor
Timothy Nelson Bothell, Wash. Bothell High School Bass
Timothy Ovia Cincinnati Finneytown
High School Bass
GRAMMY Jazz Combo
William Bridges Lauderhill, Fla. North Broward Preparatory School Alto Sax
David James Del Mar, Calif. Canyon Crest Academy Drums
Antonio Madruga Pembroke Pines, Fla. New World School of the Arts Piano
Zachary Ostroff Belvedere, Calif. The Branson School Bass
Gabe Schnider Accord, N.Y. Poughkeepsie Day School Guitar
GRAMMY Jazz Band
Patrick Bartley Coral Springs, Fla. Dillard High School of the Arts Alto Sax 1
Tom Kelley Canton, Conn. Canton High School Alto Sax 2
Xavier Del Castillo Carnation, Wash. Roosevelt High School Tenor Sax
Ben Solomon Glencoe, Ill. New Trier High School Tenor Sax
David Leon Miami New World School of the Arts Bari Sax
Christian Marrero Boynton Beach, Fla. Dreyfoos School of the Arts Trumpet Lead
Enrique Sanchez Kissimmee, Fla. Osceola County School of the Arts Trumpet Lead
Adam O'Farrill Brooklyn, N.Y. Fiorello LaGuardia High School for the Arts Trumpet Jazz
Josh Shpak Walnut Creek, Calif. Northgate High School Trumpet 4
St. Clair Simmons III Dover, Pa. Dover Area High School Trombone 1
Cory Boris Kingston, N.Y. Kingston Senior High School Trombone 2
Kyle Molitor Tigard, Ore. Tigard High School Trombone 3
Chris Palowitch Pleasanton, Calif. Amador Valley High School Bass Trombone
Steven Gordon Santa Monica, Calif. Santa Monica High School Piano
Daryl Johns Englewood, N.J. Dwight-Englewood School Bass
Aaron Shapiro Highland Park, Ill. Highland Park High School Guitar
Evan Sherman Short Hills, N.J. Millburn
High School Drums
The GRAMMY Foundation®
was established in 1989 to cultivate the understanding, appreciation
and advancement of the contribution of recorded music to American culture
- from the artistic and technical legends of the past to the still
unimagined musical breakthroughs of future generations of music professionals.
The Foundation accomplishes this mission through programs and activities
that engage the music industry and cultural community as well as the
general public. The Foundation works in partnership year-round with
its founder, The Recording Academy®, to bring national attention
to important issues such as the value and impact of music and arts education
and the urgency of preserving our rich cultural heritage. Campbell's
Labels For Education program is proud to be the official education partner
of the GRAMMY in the Schools® programs. For more information,
please visit www.grammyintheschools.com.
Media Contacts:
Christina Cassidy/GRAMMY
Foundation/310.392.3777/christ
Jaime Sarachit/The
Recording Academy/310.392.3777/jaime.
Heather Lewandoski/Rogers &
Cowan/310.854.8147/hlewandoski
September 25, 2009
2009 Thelonious Monk International Jazz Bass Competition and Gala Concert featuring all-star tribute to Blue Note Records at Kennedy Center October 11
Herbie Hancock, Dianne Reeves, Wayne Shorter, Bobby McFerrin, Kurt Elling, Ron Carter, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Terence Blanchard, McCoy Tyner, Terri Lyne Carrington, Earl Klugh, John Scofield, Joe Lovano, Jimmy Heath, Nicholas Payton, and many others to perform
Washington, D.C.-The Thelonious
Monk Institute of Jazz today announced its 22nd annual Thelonious
Monk International Jazz Competition and all-star Gala Concert
will take place at the Kennedy Center Eisenhower Theater at 7:30
p.m. on Sunday, October 11.
A special feature of this year's Competition, the Blue Note Records
70th Anniversary Gala Concert will bring together the biggest names
in music, showcasing Blue Note recording artists past and present, including
Herbie Hancock, Dianne Reeves, Wayne Shorter, Kurt Elling, Bobby McFerrin,
Ron Carter, Terence Blanchard, McCoy Tyner, Earl Klugh, John Scofield,
and Joe Lovano.
President Barack Obama and Mrs. Michelle Obama will serve as
the honorary chairs of the Thelonious Monk International Jazz Bass Competition
and Gala Concert. This year's Gala co-chairs include Madeleine
Albright, Herb and Lani Alpert, Quincy Jones, Debra Lee, Bill and Carolyn
Powers, and Joseph E. Robert Jr.
Bruce Lundvall, president and CEO of EMI Music's legendary
jazz label Blue Note Records, will be presented with the 2009 Maria
Fisher Founder's Award, a highly coveted award that honors individuals
who have made valuable contributions to jazz and jazz education. Past
recipients include Herbie Hancock, B.B. King, Stevie Wonder, George
Benson, George Wein, and Clint Eastwood.
The Thelonious Monk International Jazz Competition, often compared in
stature to classical music's International Tchaikovsky Competition
and the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, is widely regarded
as the most prestigious jazz competition in the world. Each year, the
competition features a different musical instrument and major scholarships
and prizes are awarded to talented young musicians. Over the past 22
years, the competition has launched the careers of a number of major
jazz stars including Joshua Redman, Jane Monheit, Marcus Roberts, Tierney
Sutton and Joey DeFrancesco. These artists and dozens of others from
past competitions have forged successful careers as performing and recording
artists, as well as music educators to help preserve and perpetuate
America's legacy of jazz.
The 2009 competition will feature the bass and 15 of the world's
most outstanding young jazz bassists who have been selected to compete
before a panel of jazz greats including David Baker, Ron Carter,
Charlie Haden, Dave Holland, Bob Hurst, Christian McBride, and
John Patitucci.
Scholarships and prizes totaling over $100,000 will be awarded to finalists
with a first place award of a recording contract with Concord Records
and $20,000 scholarship, second place award of a $10,000 scholarship,
and third place award of a $5,000 scholarship. The scholarships are
geared to help pay tuition for college-level jazz education studies
and provide funds for private, specialized instruction.
The 2009 semifinalists are David Baron, West Hartford, Conn.;
Matt Brewer, Oklahoma City, Okla.; Shawn Conley, Nu'uanu,
Hawaii; Adam Cote, Poughquag, N.Y.; Corcoran Holt, Washington,
D.C.;
Daryl Johns, the Bronx, N.Y.; Raviv Markovitz, Lexington,
Mass.; Ben Meigners, New York, N.Y.; Linda Oh, Australia;
Harish Raghavan, North Brook, Ill.; Jorge Roeder, Lima, Peru;
Ruben Samama, The Netherlands; Joe Sanders, Milwaukee, Wis.;
Clemens van der Feen, The Netherlands; and Ben Williams,
Washington, D.C.
The Thelonious Monk International Jazz Bass Competition Semifinals
will be held at 12 p.m. on Saturday, October 10, at the Smithsonian's
National Museum of Natural History, Baird Auditorium. The three
finalists will perform with a group of jazz all-stars at Sunday's
Kennedy Center concert, followed by the awards announcement.
The concert will also feature the winner of the Thelonious Monk International
Composers Award, sponsored by BMI. This year's winner is
Joseph Johnson of Kansas City, Mo., who will perform his winning
composition, “Shepherd's Song.” The Composers Award, which carries
a prize of $10,000, is presented to a composer who best demonstrates
originality, creativity and excellence in jazz composition.
Proceeds from the Thelonious Monk International Jazz Bass Competition
and Blue Note Records 70th Anniversary Gala Concert will help fund public
school blues and jazz education programs throughout Washington D.C.,
Los Angeles, Chicago, New Orleans, and the Mississippi Delta.
Since 1999, Black Entertainment Television has produced and broadcast
a documentary about the Competition, featuring performance clips and
interviews with the contestants and judges.
United Airlines serves as the Official Airline of the Thelonious Monk
Institute of Jazz and has generously donated the air travel for the
participants of the 2009 Thelonious Monk International Jazz Bass Competition
and Blue Note Records 70th Anniversary Gala Concert.
Editors please note:
Saturday, October 10, 2009, at 12 p.m.
Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History, Baird Auditorium,
10th St. and
Constitution Ave. N.W.
Thelonious Monk International Jazz Bass Competition Semifinals
Tickets are free and will be distributed on a first-come basis beginning
at 10:30 a.m. at Baird Auditorium. For general information, call 202-364-7272.
Sunday, October 11, 2009, at 7:30 p.m.
Kennedy Center Eisenhower Theater
Thelonious Monk International Jazz Bass Competition Finals
Blue Note Records 70th Anniversary Gala Concert
Thelonious Monk International Composers Award
Tickets start at $35 and go up to $1,000 for VIP orchestra seats, which
includes admission to thepost-show cast party. For more information
on VIP ticket packages, call 202-364-7272. Tickets may be purchased
by calling 800-444-1324, online at www.kennedy-center.org, and at the Central Box Office for
all theaters located in the Kennedy Center's Hall of States. The performance
run time is two hours, plus a 20-minute intermission.