Kutztown School District hosted their first Vocal Get JazzEd Workshop April 18 at the middle school.
About 70 students attended this event sponsored by Berks Jazz Fest Youth/Educational Activities and Berks Arts Council.
In addition to Kutztown, students from three other schools were bussed to the middle school to participate. Students from Boyertown, Exeter, and Hamburg all attended the event. There were numerous musicians and singers that came to this event to workshop with students and to teach them more about the vocal aspects of the jazz genre.
Shannon Sunday is the vocal director at the middle school.
“Having this workshop gives anyone who is interested the opportunity to participate. It gives a different perspective for students,” Sunday said. Sunday hopes to have eight schools attend next year.
Elliot Yamin, from American Idol and Candace Benson from BET’s Sundays Best, told their individual stories about their connection to music. They made their appearances to the students at the end of the circulations throughout the classrooms and closed the event with performances.
Prominent members of the musical world came to this event to hold workshops for students all day. Maria Damore, a professional vocalist, taught the students about jazz and scat music. All of the students participated in each different workshop. Skip Wilkins, a renowned pianist and composer, talked about and demonstrated the different types of jazz music while playing the piano with the students. Neal Kirkwood, a composer, pianist arranger, and band leader, lead a workshop where students could sing together while learning different techniques within the music connected to the jazz genre. Lastly, Patrick Dorian, a jazz professor at East Stroudsburg University aided the children in vocals.
Carl Zeplin, the instrumental/ band director at the middle school was looking forward to this event.
“There is not a whole lot of vocal jazz out there today and this event is all about trying to get kids excited about singing in jazz vocal groups,” Zeplin said.
All students that attended were offered a lunch through the school.
