Tuesday, July 10, 2012

JAZZ in the Schools Raises $5,000 for Arts, Music


Jeremy Kern on tenor sax at the
Anthology Jazz fundraiser.
Six award-winning middle and high school jazz bands from San Diego Unified participated in the first annual Jazz in the Schools fundraiser held recently at Anthology in downtown San Diego.

University City High School sophomore Jeremy Kern introduced the idea, and coordinated the event. Inspired by his love of music and desire to support the Visual and Performing Arts (VAPA) program and its teachers, Kern gathered several of the best jazz groups in the district to participate.

The nearly five-hour concert included performances from the following schools: Pershing Middle School, directed by Mark Anderson; Challenger Middle School, directed by Ted Foster; Marshall Middle School, directed by Steve Steinberg; the School for the Creative, Performing, and Media Arts (CPMA), directed by Richard Ciavarelli; Mission Bay High School, directed by JP Balmat; and University City High School, directed by Cameron Brown. 

The event raised over $5,000 for the San Diego Unified School District's Visual and Performing Arts Department to promote and benefit jazz music instruction and performances. 

For more information on JAZZ in the Schools visit their website, or contact VAPA director Karen Childress-Evans at 858-539-5349.