PANAMA JAZZ FESTIVAL

Promoting cultural growth

The educational component of the festival starts on Monday, with clinics on different instruments and music technology

STAFF

PANAMA. While many know the Panama Jazz Festival for its concerts, few know that the festival also includes an educational component, coordinated by the Danilo Perez Foundation.

Today, the Foundation has become a leading force in Panama for cultural development and music education. Headed by Perez’s wife Patricia and assisted by his parents, the foundation “offers opportunities for the cultural growth of Panamanian youth of limited resources but with a serious commitment to the study of music.”

The festival offers scholarships for promising young talent from Panama and other lands, through a partnership with Panamanian government agencies and other private foundations.

Auditions, starting Sunday, will be held for the Berklee School of Music, the New England Conservatory and the Conservatory of Music of Puerto Rico. According to Perez, “The first year, there was no one from Panama who passed the audition, but this last year, there were over 20. It’s been a long, hard road, but we are finally making progress. We can now offer half a million dollars in scholarships.”

Another tangible product of the foundation’s partnership with these schools are the different clinics the festival provides for music aficionados in Panama. Ensemble, flute, trumpet, guitar, composition, drum, bass, piano, and saxophone workshops will be held starting Monday.

Chucho Valdes, John Patitucci, Brian Blade, and pianist Edna Golandsky (with the Golandsky Piano Institute) are among the artist/instructors.

For the fourth consecutive year, the Festival will also offer clinics on music technology, with courses on recording, mixing, and live sound.

All classes will take place at the Ascanio Arosemena Educational Center, on the Panama Canal Administration Campus. For detailed workshop information, see: www.panamajazzfestival.com.

Publicidad