Arts Activities Support

153 participants had a unique opportunity to study and perform jazz music with musical peers on a regular basis throughout the school year. Our participants came from 57 different schools. Their increased skills and motivation strengthened their school music programs and inspired their peers. Our groups performed 21 times for over 6,000 people, bringing them joy and appreciation of music. Overall our artistic goals for the project were met. We ended up serving 153 students in nine ensembles, with overall enrollment approximately the same as last year. We had planned for our ensembles to do at least 14 total performances and they did 21. We hoped to have approximately 2,000 audience members attend our concerts and we estimate that we had more than 6,000. Minnesota Youth Jazz Bands provides our participants with an opportunity to study and perform jazz music with musical peers on a regular basis throughout the school year. While there are similar school-year opportunities for classical musicians and plenty of summer jazz camps, we believe that Minnesota Youth Jazz Bands is unique in providing a high level ongoing jazz rehearsal and performance opportunity during the school year. Minnesota Youth Jazz Bands benefits not just our students, but also their families, friends, schools and the musical community at large. Our students return to their school programs with increased skills and understanding, which strengthens and inspires their peers. This past season students from 60 different schools participated in a Minnesota Youth Jazz Bands group. There were no unusual challenges this year. The project went very smoothly. We added an extra ensemble for 10 weeks in the fall to accommodate some applicants who did not make our higher groups. The students and parents seemed to appreciate that added opportunity. Our groups performed a total of 21 times: Jazz I performed in public six times, and Jazz II five times; Jazz III three times; the Supersax group twice, the fall Mid-Level Group once, and our North Metro and three Mid-Level groups once each. Each of our public performances brings joy and appreciation to hundreds of people at a time. This past season our groups performed for over 6,000 people, a large increase over the previous year. Parents and families of participating students are very supportive. Recent quotes from parents: “Minnesota Youth Jazz Bands is extremely impressive. You attract many of the state's top young musicians to the program, treat them like the artists that they are, and help nurture their talent and musicianship. It is just a great opportunity you provide for them to gather and rehearse each week and then knock our collective socks off when it comes to the concerts.” “Thanks again for 4 wonderful years. You have a superb team of band directors working with you. Zach has learned so much and has had a lot of fun, as well as making a lot of great new friends.” Accessibility: The community we serve has gotten increasingly diverse over the years. Minnesota Youth Jazz Bands recruits students from over 170 different middle and high schools in all seven metro counties. Our students come from diverse geographic, economic, and cultural backgrounds. Students from many different racial/ethnic backgrounds, male and female, have participated in each of the program’s 12 years. Our students vary widely in age and ability. We’ve structured each of our eight groups for different ages, abilities, program lengths, and geographic locations so that we have a spot for almost everyone who has an interest. We provide liberal scholarship assistance in cases of financial need. Students vary in age and ability. What they all share is a desire to learn and perform jazz music, directed by professional musician-educators, in the company of other students who love music as much as they do. Our rehearsal locations are in different parts of the metro area to provide better access to our program. Our concert locations are centrally located and open to the public. Performance dates, times and location are announced publicly. The CDs we produce are available to anyone for a small fee that helps us cover the production cost. We give away a number of free CDs each year to aspiring jazz students. All of the rehearsal or performance facilities used by the Youth Jazz Bands program are accessible to people with disabilities in accordance with ADA guidelines. No admission is charged for any performance, although the final concert does have an optional suggested donation amount.