218 N. Eighth Street | Columbia, MO 65201
Admin: 573-449-3009 | Tickets: 573-449-3001
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The James Williams Jazz Series Education Program
Each season the "We Always Swing" Jazz Series augments its concert presentations with educationally oriented activities that involve children and students of all ages, grades K through the higher education study levels. The Jazz Series chose to name the program after the late pianist, James Williams, who succumbed to liver cancer on July 20, 2004. He was 53. James was not only a beloved, well-respected and internationally known musician, but was also a great believer in and advocate of jazz education. He performed as part of the Jazz Series a number of times, appearing in a variety of contexts from solo, duo and trio to larger ensemble settings. The James Williams Jazz Series Education Program includes an Artists-in-Residence component, the annual Children's Concert, "Jazz in the Schools," the Jazz Series Jazz Camp Scholarship Fund, photography exhibits, film series and our publications. If you would like to make a tax-deductible contribution to the James Williams Jazz Series Education Program, please check the appropriate box within the "Annual Giving" section of the Ticket Order Form or download our Annual Giving Form. Thank you.
Jazz Series Launches Annual Fund as dollar-for-dollar match for major NEA Jazz Masters Live
This is a special year for us. As recipients of a major grant from the National Endowment for the Arts – the Jazz Masters Live Initiative we are required to match the award dollar for dollar. The goal: $30,000 – and we need do reach it by February 18, 2008 – the day commissioned composer and Kansas City native Bob Brookmeyer returns to Missouri to conduct the world premier of his new work performed by the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra, at the Missouri Theatre Center for the Arts. This season your tax-deductible donation to the Jazz Series goes twice as far.
Jazz Series Receives NEA Grant
“We Always Swing” Jazz Series snags prestigious NEA Jazz Masters Live grants…
Organization, one of only 12 presenters in the United States selected to receive $30,000 award paves the way for Missouri native and NEA Jazz Master Bob Brookmeyer to compose new work for the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra. New York-based, 16-piece orchestra arrives in Columbia to perform world premiere February 18, 2009, at the Missouri Theatre with Brookmeyer as guest conductor. Also on hand: Dan Morgenstern, fellow NEA Jazz Master and Director of Rutgers Jazz Institute. The world renowned historian will serve as guest emcee and host a pair of forums: a one-on-one interview with Brookmeyer and an in-depth look into the chronology of the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra, which has been holding court at jazz’s most famous basement – The Village Vanguard – since 1965. Much-anticipated events serve as centerpiece for MU’s Arts & Science Week.
Are you ready to get your 2008/2009 “Swing” on?
The 2008/2009 “We Always Swing” Jazz Series has arrived and tickets are on sale NOW!
On tap: a sumptuous mix of modern jazz – small groups, large ensembles, varied instrumentation and instrumentalists, vocalists, male and female artists, special events and educational activities all rolled into our 14th season.
We think we have put together a great season, one filled with 10 regularly scheduled concerts and a trio of fun-filled special-event performances that take place in a venues small and large – from the intimacy of Murry’s and the new Ragtag Cinema to the full-size feel of the newly restored Missouri Theatre Center for the Arts and mid-sized houses such as The Blue Note and Stephens College’s Windsor Auditorium and Lela Rainey Wood Ballroom.
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