Blacwking Foundation is proud to announce that it’s “inaugural” music education project the Ignite the Arts Tour featuring the internationally renowned Christian Tamburr Jazz Quintet has just completed it’s 19 city tour. The tour impacted over 2000 high school music students with a unique series of workshops and evening benefit concerts supporting each school’s music program.
The Ignite the Arts Tour is a nationally touring educational outreach program, the vision of renowned vibraphonist and multi-instrumentalist Christian Tamburr to help inspire and revitalize the arts in our public schools. The newly established Blackwing Foundation, has selected this program as the foundation element of our outreach and funding support to help re-ignite music and arts education in our nations schools.
The tour concept developed by Christian Tamburr features top musicians presenting workshops and performances for students for inspiration and to expose them to world of what it means to play at the highest level. Tamburr states “I myself was inspired to pursue my passion in vibraphone and music by such a visit to my high school band class and wanted to give back in a similar way.”
This inaugural tour also partnered with the University of the Pacific’s Brubeck Institute, where Tamburr had previously participated as guest artist and instructor at the Institute’s Summer Jazz Colony. The Brubeck Institute provided support in developing important curriculum and content elements in designing the workshops and master classes which were taught by Christian Tamburr, renowned Trumpeter Dominick Farinacci and the other quintet members.
The inaugural tour visited 19 Schools throughout the Southeastern U.S. states over a 30 day period while the Christian Tamburr Quintet toured also performing other shows at clubs and theaters in the region. The typical school based event included a day of master classes in which students and teachers engaged with the professional performers and artists to develop skills along a variety of subjects such as improvisation, managing a band, arranging and composing, etc. The workshops are followed by evening performances and exhibitions featuring both students and the touring professionals. Evening events are designed to provide a community based outreach and fundraising opportunity to support each participating school’s music and arts programs.
The Blackwing Foundation agreed to support funding to help pilot this project which included a local donation to each of the participating schools’ arts and music education program. Blackwing Foundation was established by Charles & Ginger Berolzheimer to develop and support innovative partnerships that have a sustainable, positive impact on arts and music participation and learning in the classroom. Charles indicates that “Our goal with this initiative to leave a lasting impression on the students and the communities we visit while increasing awareness and support for the arts. Our longer term objective for the Tour program is to work with Christian is to expand from these initial roots in music to include a broader base fine arts and theater arts workshop programs as well.
Doubling as Ignite the Arts Tour program director Christian worked closely with each school to select workshop options and to develop a unique, inspiring and highly successful program. Participating schools must make an active commitment to promotion and implementation of core program elements including provision of local volunteers for outreach and support of the evening program.
Click here to see a copy of the current program handout.
For more information on bringing an Ignite the Arts tour event to your school and community in future years contact us at: ITA@blackwingfoundation.org
