Jazz at Lincoln Center and Rockefeller Foundation Pair Up for School Tour

Jazz at Lincoln Center and Rockefeller Foundation Pair Up for School Tour


(1 of 1) Wynton Marsalis performs with Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra during the Newport Jazz Festival in Newport, R.I. The Rockefeller Foundation and Jazz at Lincoln Center are teaming up to put jazz in the ears of thousands of urban school children across the globe. The tour, led by Wynton Marsalis, is designed for students with limited access to arts education in grades K-12.


Jazz at Lincoln Center and the Rockefeller Foundation have announced a new education outreach program for students in disadvantaged schools. The program, “Jazz for Young People: The Resilient Cities Tour,” will connect live jazz performances to an American history curriculum, reaching 60 schools in five cities: Chicago; New Orleans; St. Louis; San Juan, P.R.; and Sydney, Australia.

An expansion of a partnership that was first forged in New York City public schools, the initiative will highlight jazz’s response to social struggle, with an emphasis on resilience.

“I couldn’t be more proud, as an educator and the president of the Rockefeller Foundation, that we are able to support innovative curricula that expands possibilities for young people,” Judith S. Rodin, the foundation’s president, said in a statement. “As we have seen with our support for ‘Hamilton,’ the musical, experiential learning is a proven — and critical — tool for enhancing public education and building urban resilience.

“Now with ‘Jazz for Young People’ we have another great opportunity to open up young minds by showing them how jazz has inspired hope in the face of adversity.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/01/arts/music/jazz-at-lincoln-center-and-rockefeller-foundation-pair-up-for-school-tour.html?_r=0