Jazz Festival Promotes Music Education
By Mary Benton
POSTED: Thursday, July 31, 2008
UPDATED: 6:13 pm CDT July 31,
2008
HOUSTON -- Aspiring young musicians, along with those who just have a love for music and want to learn how to play an instrument, will benefit from the Houston International Jazz Festival, KPRC Local 2 reported Thursday.
Read Reporter's Blog: On The Beat With Mary Benton
Proceeds from the festival, which runs Friday and Saturday, will benefit Jazz Education, Inc., an organization that promotes music education through schools and an intensive five-week jazz workshop held every summer.Bubbha Thomas is the founder and artistic director of Jazz Education Inc."When I came up with this idea, I thought, 'Look, let's do something in Houston where kids who where in the same position as I was in would at least have an opportunity to learn how to play music,'" Thomas said.His vision has touched people, including 15-year-old Briana Dillon, a student at Seven Lakes High School in Katy, who started playing the violin in the second grade and has remained focused on music.After hearing about the program, Briana's parents decided to enroll her in the summer jazz workshop."The teachers were really great. I don't think I would have learned some of the stuff that I learned at my normal school, like jazz idiom, music theory and improvisation," said Briana.Briana, along with other jazz students, will perform at the Mayor's Jazz Scholarship Brunch on Sunday.Other events include performances by jazz education students at Discovery Green on Saturday. Professional artists include the "Velvet Teddy Bear" Ruben Studdard, the group Hiroshima and Sax Pack.City leaders encouraged all Houstonians to buy a concert ticket or a ticket to the Sunday brunch. It's a chance to hear some great music and benefit students."I think this gives the city a new reputation and paints a new picture for us. We don't want to compete with New Orleans, but we also want to say we have a great musical culture right here in our great city," said City Councilman Jarvis Johnson, who is serving as chairman of the Jazz Festival.More Information:
Read Reporter's Blog: On The Beat With Mary Benton
Proceeds from the festival, which runs Friday and Saturday, will benefit Jazz Education, Inc., an organization that promotes music education through schools and an intensive five-week jazz workshop held every summer.Bubbha Thomas is the founder and artistic director of Jazz Education Inc."When I came up with this idea, I thought, 'Look, let's do something in Houston where kids who where in the same position as I was in would at least have an opportunity to learn how to play music,'" Thomas said.His vision has touched people, including 15-year-old Briana Dillon, a student at Seven Lakes High School in Katy, who started playing the violin in the second grade and has remained focused on music.After hearing about the program, Briana's parents decided to enroll her in the summer jazz workshop."The teachers were really great. I don't think I would have learned some of the stuff that I learned at my normal school, like jazz idiom, music theory and improvisation," said Briana.Briana, along with other jazz students, will perform at the Mayor's Jazz Scholarship Brunch on Sunday.Other events include performances by jazz education students at Discovery Green on Saturday. Professional artists include the "Velvet Teddy Bear" Ruben Studdard, the group Hiroshima and Sax Pack.City leaders encouraged all Houstonians to buy a concert ticket or a ticket to the Sunday brunch. It's a chance to hear some great music and benefit students."I think this gives the city a new reputation and paints a new picture for us. We don't want to compete with New Orleans, but we also want to say we have a great musical culture right here in our great city," said City Councilman Jarvis Johnson, who is serving as chairman of the Jazz Festival.More Information:
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