St. Louis is an important city in the history and development of jazz. Unfortunately, jazz education is primarily confined to the few students who participate in their school's jazz ensemble. To assist schools in bringing jazz education into the classroom, Jazz St. Louis developed the Emerson Jazz Education Collaborative.

Inaugurated in 2000 through a generous grant from the Whitaker Foundation and made possible by continuing funding from Emerson, the Emerson Jazz Education Collaborative allows Jazz St. Louis to provide schools with visits from jazz artists who are performing on the Jazz at the Bistro Series. The artists participate in a number of different activities including performance/demonstration, master classes, clinics and intra-disciplinary presentations. Because of generous funding, these events are provided at no cost to the students, teachers or institutions that choose to participate.

"Tony DeSare performs at St. Gabriel the Archangel"

The Goals of the Emerson Jazz Education Collaborative

• Create, cultivate and develop collaborations between Jazz St. Louis and various performing arts organizations, grade schools, universities and jazz artists.
• Introduce jazz to schools as an American Cultural Institution and America's greatest contribution to the world of art.
• Provide educational experiences for students within the greater St. Louis area.
• Provide students with positive role models, particularly in underserved areas of our community.
• Develop future audiences for jazz by working with all students, not just music students.

Host a Jazz St. Louis Artist at your School!

Schools interested in participating in the Emerson Jazz Education Collaborative by hosting a Jazz St. Louis artist can learn more by clicking on the options below. There, you will find a list of available artists and dates, request procedures and the request form. Most artists are only available on Thursdays or Fridays (except participants in the Jazz St. Louis Artist Residency program, which are available Monday through Friday) and are booked on a first-come, first-served basis. For most artists, we are only able to schedule one activity. Because of this, many schools may request performances from the same artist and we cannot fill all requests.

Please direct any questions, comments or concerns to Phil Dunlap, Director of Education, at (314) 289-4033 or phil@jazzstl.org.

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