Cincinnati Public Schools (CPS) Middle School Jazz Combo will perform at the JAZZING Sant Andreu International Jazz Festival in Spain. The group, led by Dr. Isidore Rudnick, is the only student group from the United States invited to perform at the festival.
Eight sixth-grade students and three seventh-grade students from seven schools across the district, along with two CPS teachers and six parent chaperones will head to Barcelona, Spain to jam with their European Jazz counterparts, take jazz workshops with prominent guest artists from Europe and South America, and perform in two concerts on the Education Stage.
“Our students have worked extremely hard over the summer to prepare for the festival,” said Dr. Isidore Rudnick, CPS Fine Arts Curriculum Manager and Jazz Academy Director. “They will have a truly life changing experience performing on an international music festival stage and exploring the unique Catalonian culture of Spain”.
The middle school combo is part of the Youth Jazz Cincinnati partnership between CPS, Activities Beyond the Classroom and Kennedy Heights Arts Center. CPS students in the jazz academy, which has grown to over 100 students, range from grades four to 11. They receive weekly high quality jazz instruction at no cost at the Kennedy Heights Arts Center’s Lindner Annex. The program is funded in part by a grant from Impact 100. Additional ongoing support for the program is provided by the Mayerson Foundation Artistic Excellence Fund.
The CPS Middle School Jazz Combo group leaves for Spain on September 1, 2022 and returns on September 8, 2022. Students will perform on Sunday, September 4 at 12:00 p.m. and on Monday September 5 at 12:00PM. For more information about the festival, please visit: https://jazzingfestival.com/jazz-education-stage/.