Program Description
Montavilla Jazz seeks to revive Mt. Tabor Middle School’s jazz education program, bringing resources, funding, and expertise to ensure its success and sustainability.
Montavilla Jazz Resident Artist, Quinn Walker will share his professional expertise in weekly visits to Mt. Tabor Middle School’s beginning, intermediate, and advanced band classes in Fall, Winter, and Spring Terms of the 2022-23 school year. This project is funded by a grant from The Marie Lamfrom Charitable Foundation.
Objectives
- To provide an introduction to, and instruction in, the instrumental performance practices, and the cultural and historical significance, of the art form known as jazz.
- To prepare Mt. Tabor Middle School musicians for high school level musical opportunities and ensure students are on par with their peers from other schools in the district.
Who benefits?
Montavilla Jazz Artist in Residency and After School Jazz Band Club will support Mt. Tabor Middle School’s band program by providing additional opportunities for all band students to learn instrumental performance practices, and broaden their understanding of the significant role that jazz plays in the history of band ensemble music, including innovations to performance techniques that are specific to jazz.
The community benefits from having jazz band performances that showcase the talents of Mt. Tabor Middle School students. In years past the jazz band has performed at a number of community events including the annual Mt. Tabor PTA fundraiser.
What will be different?
The new Montavilla Jazz Artist in Residency and After School Jazz Band Club at Mt. Tabor Middle School will differ from past incarnations of the jazz band program with increased access to programming for all registered MTMS band students, enhanced support for the band director through weekly in-class visits by the resident artist, higher artist pay, and funding for materials, events, and special guest artists. In addition, the program is structured so that tuition is lower for students–with support from the community, sponsors, and grant funding.
What’s possible?
If MTMS has a thriving jazz program in partnership with Montavilla Jazz, our community will have the opportunity to see students gain skills in, and appreciation for, America’s indigenous art form. A thriving jazz program could lead to opportunities for MTMS students to participate in regional jazz festival competitions, and the Montavilla Jazz Festival as well. Through this pilot program we hope to show that this format would work in other schools in the area, expanding the program and its donors and supporters.
Meet Director Quinn Walker
Quinn Walker is a Seattle-born, Portland-based trumpet player, composer, arranger and educator. Walker has become an important part of the jazz scenes in Portland, while receiving his Bachelor’s degree in jazz studies from Portland State University, and in Eugene while receiving his Masters degree in jazz studies from the University of Oregon. Walker has performed with the Portland Jazz Composers Ensemble, the Chuck Israels Jazz Orchestra, Randy Porter, George Colligan, and many other Portland Jazz icons; he is also the main trumpeter in local Portland bands Conjunto Alegre, Pura Vida, Barrio Metstizo, and The Krebsic Orkestar. In addition to playing and arranging/composing Walker teaches jazz band at Prairie High School, is the jazz area program assistant at Grant High School, and runs a private trumpet lesson studio.