Music education is a vital component of this weekend’s Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival. More than 3,600 students from hundreds of high schools across the Northwest and Canada are learning the latest in their craft from the jazz greats of our time. They’re also studying math, career planning, entrepreneurship and international relations. Our signature University of Idaho jazz festival, now in its 53rd year, includes 400 student performances and over 60 workshops and clinics that develop the talent of young artists. Supporting that talent is important. It’s exciting to see this learning opportunity present itself when a member of the Lionel Hampton Big Band takes the time to tutor a student one-on-one. These artists spend the day mentoring countless musicians, then take the stage for crowds at the ASUI-Kibbie Activity Center. I’m looking forward to attending the festival's evening concerts, which will feature top student soloists competing for a University of Idaho scholarship from Avista, as well as performances by jazz greats Joshua Redman, Vertical Voices and all 16 members of the Lionel Hampton Big Band. It will be just as inspiring to see these same artists work with high school students and our faculty on their music. These students won’t all become professional musicians. Some will go into engineering or law, science or art. Our faculty from disciplines across the university are finding ways to integrate the art of jazz into festival lesson plans focusing on their own fields of study. Workshops that bridge science and art or teach the business of music create new avenues for these students to grow and elevate their craft. That’s what’s so special about Lionel Hampton’s vision for music education. We’re teaching music, but we’re also opening these kids up to all of the possibilities available to them associated with a college education. This weekend is the first time many of our future students get the chance to visit the University of Idaho campus. We want them to feel welcome and supported, because they could one day be the newest members of our Vandal Family. Think of it as another way we can tell our story and support these students as they thrive on their chosen path. It is what the Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival is all about. |