Lincoln
College Earns Grant for Youth Jazz Classes
‘PlayFormance’ Program uses College
Students to Teach First through Sixth Graders
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[May 18, 2018]
LINCOLN
- Lincoln College has been awarded a $1,200 grant from the Illinois
Prairie Community Foundation to offer reduced tuition for an
after-school program that invites children to play and create in a
world of musical games wrapped in rhythm, melody, word-play and
story.
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“Lincoln College Jazz Playformance” was one of 73
programs in McLean, DeWitt, Livingston and Logan counties receiving
2018 spring grants from the Foundation.
The program was created, and will be led, by Denise La Grassa, Lead
Faculty for Jazz Studies, at Lincoln College.
“We will be using the same approach that I use when developing shows
here at Lincoln College, but adapting it to younger students,”
LaGrassa explained. “It is a great way for children and youth to
explore the world of music, improvisation storytelling and
performance. At the same time, this is an opportunity for our
outstanding jazz studies students to share their love of music and
develop teaching skills under my direction.”
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Jazz Playformance games involve a series of themes from classical
and jazz music, classic and modern poetry, and plays. Master composers and
authors including Shakespeare, Mozart, Ellington, and Gwendolyn Brooks serve as
a base for students to riff with melodies and word phrases to create individual
songs. Advanced level students will merge songs into stories, creating
theme-based musicals.
Funds from the Illinois Prairie Community Foundation will be used to provide
needed equipment and financial support in order to offer the course to 32
students. Sixteen slots will be reserved for at-risk youth to attend free of
charge.
[Mark Gordon
Public Relations and Media Manager
Lincoln College] |