SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2016
MUSIC
| TAMPA BAY MAGAZINE 165
2011’s Best Music Festival, and by the
Tampa Bay Business Journal as a finalist
for its Nonprofit of the Year Award.
The music festival and other annual
Foundation initiatives and programs now
have a substantial cultural community
impact. The Foundation’s History of
Jazz Education Outreach Program, for
example, is reaching thousands of Bay area
elementary and middle school students
with its innovative format. The Foundation
also has a long history of providing special
funding in support of youth music and
jazz education. Each year, the Foundation
contributes funds to certain middle school
jazz ensembles and band programs whose
schools participate in the Education
Outreach Program. In addition, the
Foundation donates to schools invited to
participate in the Clearwater Jazz Holiday
School Give Back Program. This initiative
showcases these select schools’ music
programs at the festival as part of an effort
to increase awareness of the Foundation’s
education mission. The Foundation also
provides annual scholarships in connection
with the Pinellas Education Foundation
for high school graduating seniors who
have a background and interest in music,
a successful track record, and plans
to continue with music as they pursue
their careers.
The Foundation cherishes its longtime
partnership with Ruth Eckerd Hall, as
well, and is proud to provide funding to
Ruth Eckerd Hall’s renowned youth jazz
program so that the most talented Bay area
jazz students can learn at a high level in an
elite environment at no cost. Thanks to the
Clearwater Jazz Holiday, approximately
five to eight students each year, usually in
their junior or senior year of high school,
participate in the Youth Jazz Combo, a
comprehensive jazz track program with
exciting performance opportunities during
the year and at the Clearwater Jazz Holiday
music festival in October.
Additionally, the Foundation’s
Education Committee supports youth
music and other jazz education programs.
For instance, the Foundation sponsored
the Bay Area Youth Jazz Festival earlier
this year, which is an adjudicated school
competition with a master class component.
Community outreach is also a key
focus, which enables the Foundation
to broaden its partner base, increase
awareness, and strengthen its cultural
impact. The festival provides a worldclass
setting for unique, event-based
learning experiences. Students in area
high schools and universities participate
in many facets of the event production.
These unique learning positions include
photography, journalism, stage and video
production, culinary arts, graphic design
and merchandising. Collaborations with
community education partners, such as
The Art Institute of Tampa and St. Pete
College, are creating exciting learning
opportunities. One new program is a three
course business of music seminar provided
at no cost to SPC’s Music Industry and
Recording Arts students, where students
gain real-world insight into the business
of music and festival production and
volunteer/shadowing experience. The
Foundation has also positively impacted
other community partners, such as Shriners
Hospitals, with a special annual music
therapy event developed for patients and
their families.
“Arts education is often the first to
go with budget cuts, so it’s great to see
that those early Jazz Holiday scholarship
programs have taken root and have
continued to grow and prosper,” says
Fuhler.
The Foundation strives to utilize its
platform to promote local and young
emerging artists. Whether at the festival
or its related events throughout the year,
such as the popular High Note Society
socials, this local emphasis adds to the
uniqueness of the experience and provides
lasting memories of the Clearwater area
to those who attend. 9
EDITOR’S NOTE: The Clearwater Jazz
Holiday music festival is October 13th-16th.
For more information about the festival, its
education programs, and volunteering, visit
www.clearwaterjazz.com.
The Clearwater Jazz Holiday today
/www.clearwaterjazz.com