New Orleans Non-Profits Feel the Love

NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA (June 23, 2009) – – Irvin Mayfield, civic leader and artistic director of The New Orleans Jazz Institute at UNO (NOJI), along with Dr. Andre Perry, associate dean of the UNO College of Education and Human Development and chief executive officer of the Capital One-UNO Charter School Network, and Dr. Susan Krantz, dean of the University of New Orleans College of Liberal Arts, will hold a press conference to announce the Saturday Music School on Monday, June 29 at 1 p.m. at the UNO Performing Arts Center, Room 103.

Unparalleled in scope and design, the Saturday Music School to be launched in the fall, will provide students ages 8 to 14 from Gentilly Terrace Elementary School (operated by a partnership between the Capital One-UNO Charter Network and the Recovery School District) as well as students citywide with rigourous and individualized music instruction at the UNO Performing Arts Center on the Lakefront Campus. Students will also be recruited citywide, by audition, for participation in lessons and ensemble opportunities.

Saturday Music School will include strings, music theory, sight singing, music appreciation, woodwinds, horns, piano and purcussion along with multidisciplinary arts activities such as mural painting and dance.

The Saturday School program will provide group lessons for beginning students as well as private applied music lessons for more advanced students.  

“This program is about making an investment in what is best about us: our children and our culture,” Mayfield said. “The yearlong, free Saturday music school with rigorous educational standards and individual attention to each student serves the community with high-quality and engaging arts education for our youth.”

Dean Krantz agrees. “At UNO, we planned the Saturday Music School to be a continuing learning experience, so that students can gain the musical proficiency they’ll need to advance academically and creatively.”

Free to all participants, the Saturday Music School is designed to adhere to the National Standards for Arts Education as set forth by the National Association for Music Education. It will be staffed by faculty and music education instructors from UNO, NOJI, the New Orleans Jazz Orchestra and other contracted artistic personnel.

“This program epitomizes the best in university/school partnerships,” said Perry.
“We are at the beginning of an exciting chapter in this city’s development, where our institutions aspire to the highest levels of art and culture. Music development is one of our city's strengths. Our universities and schools should build on the rich musical heritage of New Orleans.”

“The partnership between the New Orleans Jazz Institute, the Capital One-UNO Charter School Network and the UNO Department of Music represents the possibility of what we can achieve when we work together for the right reasons,” Mayfield said. “This is a win for kids and communities.”

Contact Robin Williams, Director of Programs for the New Orleans Jazz Institute at UNO, for audition and program information at (504) 280-3303 or via email at rmwilli6@uno.edu.

The New Orleans Jazz Institute (NOJI) at UNO links UNO’s strengths in jazz education with professional practice. It serves to promote creative excellence and best practices in Jazz composition, performance, scholarship, importation, exportation, and education. The Institute serves as a community and capacity building organization for New Orleans’ Jazz Industry and creative community, bolsters the activities and scope of UNO Jazz programs, and acts as an ambassador for New Orleans Jazz all over the world. For details, visit cola.uno.edu/noji/.

The Capital One-University of New Orleans Charter Network is a seamless pre-kindergarten through college learning community. Schools in the Network are operated by UNO’s College of Education & Human Development. Teachers focus on the individual needs of every child, every day and prepare children for the next educational level. This pre-kindergarten through high school educational process is designed to provide access and placement in community colleges and The University of New Orleans. For more information on the Capital One-University of New Orleans Charter Network, visit www.unocharternetwork.net/ .

Gentilly Terrace Elementary School is operated by the Recovery School District (RSD) as a University Partnership School with the University of New Orleans. For more information, visit www.gentillyterrace.net/.

The University of New Orleans (UNO), the urban research University of the State of Louisiana, provides essential support for the educational, economic, cultural and social well-being of the culturally rich and diverse New Orleans metropolitan area. It opened its doors in 1958 as part of the Louisiana State University System "to bring public-supported higher education to Louisiana's largest urban community." Today, UNO offers 43 undergraduate degree programs, 37 masters, and 11 doctoral programs. The 340-acre main campus sits on the south shore of Lake Pontchartrain, offering easy access to all parts of the metro area. For more information, visit www.uno.edu.

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