(NEWARK, NJ) -- The New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC), the state's anchor cultural institution, celebrates 27 years of offering thousands of high schoolers from Newark and beyond music lessons and performance experiences through its popular Jazz for Teens program. One of the first of many arts education institutions at NJPAC, it has grown into a nationally recognized and revered program producing stellar alumni such as MacArthur "Genius" Fellow Tyshawn Sorey. The 2024-25 school year is about to begin and is now accepting students for both the Fall 2024 and Spring 2025 semesters. Registration is now open and closes September 23.
Jazz for Teens is a comprehensive and sequential jazz education program that provides access to top-notch musical training and study with world-class working artists, opportunities for artistic exchange within the community, and college and career exploration. This school year offers a new program “Business of the Music Business” with class topics including: financial wellness and budgeting; contracting; marketing and publicity; production and more. Classes include jazz history, theory/composition, technique, ensembles, and more. Prospective college students are guided through the application process. Students are given many performance opportunities as members of the James Moody Jazz Orchestra and/or George Wein Scholars Ensemble (performing at the Newport Jazz Festival). All students record their own compositions together in a studio setting. Field trips to Rutgers University-Newark’s remarkable Institute of Jazz Studies, the largest archive of jazz-related materials in the world, are regular treats for students.
Since 2015, Jazz for Teens has been at the helm of Mark Gross, the Director of Jazz Instruction for NJPAC. A multiple GRAMMY-winning alto sax player and composer, Gross has performed and recorded with a roster of greats, including Dizzy Gillespie, Buster Williams, Nat Adderley, Dave Holland, Wynton Marsalis, and more. In addition to Gross, a roster of more than a dozen working jazz musicians including saxophonist Wayne Escoffery and guitarist Alex Wintz (himself an alumnus of the program) as well as celebrated percussionist Alvester Garnett and acclaimed, Russian-born trumpeter Valery Ponomarev, a Jazz Messenger, to name a few — make up the Jazz for Teens faculty. Even more bold-faced names, including eight-time GRAMMY-winning bassist Christian McBride, the Arts Center’s Jazz Advisor, vibraphonist Stefon Harris, and MacArthur “Genius” and Doris Duke Artist award winner Regina Carter offer master classes, working directly with students.
NJPAC’s Arts Education offerings reach more than 60,000 students and families through live performances, in-school residency programs and arts training classes. These programs bring the joy of dance, music, theater, and poetry directly to the classroom. Through their innovative residencies, Teaching Artists create stimulating performing arts experiences that engage students’ imaginations and build self-confidence through positive self-expression. Their residencies help students learn to work together and develop their creative independence.
In addition to NJPAC’s innovative In-School Programs, the Arts Center’s comprehensive Arts Education Department offers an Arts Training Program that helps students at every level learn their artistic and technical skills they need to study acting, dance, instrumental music, vocal music, and musical theater. NJPAC also presents a SchoolTime Performance Series, which introduces students and their families to a world of entertainment and culture. NJPAC’s Arts Education programs feature professional artists from a wide variety of traditions and performances of music, dance, storytelling, puppetry, and more.
New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC), located in downtown Newark, N.J., is America’s most diverse performing arts center, and the artistic, cultural, educational and civic center of New Jersey – where great performances and events enhance and transform lives every day. NJPAC brings diverse communities together, providing access to all and showcasing the state’s and the world’s best artists while acting as a leading catalyst in the revitalization of its home city. Through its extensive Arts Education programs, NJPAC is shaping the next generation of artists and arts enthusiasts. NJPAC has attracted 10 million visitors (including more than 1.8 million children) since opening its doors in 1997, and nurtures meaningful and lasting relationships with each of its constituents.
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