The UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music with Friends of Jazz at UCLA will present a benefit concert to honor UCLA jazz legend Kenny Burrell for his 85th birthday
All proceeds from the concert will help establish an endowed chair in jazz studies in Burrell’s name. Burrell is a frequent guest artist at the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz Performance at UCLA. The “Kenny Burrell 85: Artist, Legend, Legacy” concert will be held Saturday, Dec. 3 at 7 p.m. at UCLA’s Royce Hall and will feature new works by Burrell and special guests performances. For tickets and information: https://www.schoolofmusic.ucla.edu/kb85
Congratulations to the dozen teachers who join the The Juilliard School including Ted Rosenthal and Helen Sung. Ted, who has been a graduate studies faculty member since 2005, has joined the jazz piano faculty. He was the winner of the 1988 Thelonious Monk International Jazz Piano Competition.
Helen Sung will be teaching jazz ensemble. She studied classical piano from childhood, attended Houston’s High School for the Performing Arts before earning undergraduate and graduate degrees in classical piano from the University of Texas at Austin; she later studied at the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz Performance.
Congratulations to the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz Performance at the UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music Class of 2016. The members of the class including Alex Boneham, Christian Euman, Michael Mayo, Ido Meshulam, David Otis, Daniel Rotem, and Carmen Staaf walked in the UCLA commencement ceremony on June 11th, 2016. Institute of Jazz Performance Distinguished Professor Herbie Hancock was in attendance.
The Institute’s Jazz in the Classroom Annual Concert was held at the Grammy Museum on June 5th, 2016. Students from seven Los Angeles Unified School District high schools and three middle schools performed along with the Monk Institute/LAUSD All-City Big Band and Combo. The students were joined by special guest artist GRAMMY Award-winning vocalist Lalah Hathaway.
After performing at the White House for International Jazz Day, the Thelonious Monk Institute National Performing Artist High School All-Star Jazz Quintet toured New York and Newark from May 2nd through May 8th, 2016. The quintet is comprised of talented students from performing arts high schools around the country including the Los Angeles County High School for the Arts, the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts, the Houston School for the Visual and Performing Arts and the Chicago High School for the Arts. The group presented assemblies and workshops along with guest artists saxophonist Antonio Hart and vocalist Lisa Henry at Arts High School, Barringer Academy of STEAM and Science Park High Schools in Newark and Frank Sinatra School of the Arts and Celia Cruz Bronx High School of Music in New York. The quintet also performed at Duke’s Southern Table in Newark and recorded with legendary jazz engineer Rudy Van Gelder.
Thelonious Monk Institute in partnership with UNESCO presented International Jazz Day 2016 which included President Obama and Michelle Obama who hosted International Jazz Day 2016 All-Star Global Concert At The White House which featured Herbie Hancock, Sting, Aretha Franklin, Trombone Shorty, Diana Krall, Al Jarreau, Hugh Masekela, Buddy Guy, Chick Corea, Wayne Shorter, Pat Metheny and many others as well as educational events throughout the day of April 30 in the DC area.
For more information, visit JazzDay.com
United Airlines and CrowdRise have partnered with the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz for the Giving Tower. Through your generosity on #GivingTuesday you can help support Jazz Education and Global Cultural Diplomacy while earning as much as 1,000 United Miles and chances to win great prizes! This special campaign begins Friday, November 20, 2015, and runs through the holiday season. Details can be found here. We thank you for your generosity!
In case you missed it or would like to watch again, the video of the 2015 Thelonious Monk Institute International Jazz Vocals Competition semifinals is posted on our Youtube channel! Other videos from the Gala and Competition will also be available. Be sure to subscribe so you’ll be among the first to know when they’re posted.
Congratulations to Jazzmeia Horn, 2015 Thelonious Monk Institute International Jazz Vocals Competition Winner! Ms. Horn won a $25,000 scholarship and recording contract with Concord Music Group. Full press release detailing the Competition and All-Star Gala Concert honoring Quincy Jones may be found here.
