DISTINGUISHED CONDUCTORS, COMPOSERS, ARTISTS, AND PRODUCERS CONTRIBUTE TO EXPANSION OF CENTER FOR JAZZ ARTS EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM June 22, 2005 Los Angeles --- Through its mission to continuously promote both the study and performance of jazz-influenced symphonic, operatic, and theatrical works from around the world, and with each of its featured works being suggested by a distinguished creative leader of today, the Center for Jazz Arts has recently launched the first phase of its online, classical arts programming. In providing direct, personal suggestions by renowned conductors, composers, artists, scholars, and producers from around the world, this new resource is making possible an even more significant means of engagement for students, educators, and the broader public. As part of the full, educational material being included, along with a brief, descriptive comment on the work's personal importance, historical overviews of both the composers and their compositions are also provided. "We're extremely honored to have our work continue to receive the support and assistance of such an incredible group of distinguished creative leaders," stated Guy DeFazio, Center for Jazz Arts president and chairman. "By making possible an important, new resource serving both the broader public and the hundreds of international institutions involved in the fields of cultural studies, music history, and performing arts, the CJA is continuing its commitment to advancing greater understanding for the unparalleled, shared national heritage created through the embrace of American popular culture, both within and beyond its borders." In addition to others, among the list of celebrated conductors providing their personal suggestions as part of the initial launch of the center's classical arts programming are Pierre Boulez (IRCAM/Paris), Sir Simon Rattle (Berlin Philharmonic), Esa-Pekka Salonen (L.A. Philharmonic), James DePreist (Juilliard), and Sir Andrew Davis (Lyric Opera of Chicago). Among the list of world-renowned composers, producers, and scholars also providing their suggestions toward the featured works are legendary music producer Sir George Martin, as well as Adam Gershwin (The Gershwin Trust), Richard Lyttelton (EMI/London), and Peter Golub (The Sundance Institute). Included in the list of musical works currently being featured are numerous, widely-recognized symphonic, operatic, and ballet compositions by such beloved, twentieth-century composers as George Gershwin, Maurice Ravel, Igor Stravinsky, Darius Milhaud, and Ernst Krenek, as well as a variety of innovative, more recent works by both British and American composers such as Mark-Anthony Turnage, John McLaughlin, Gunther Schuller, David Baker, and Billy Childs. Additionally, with the inspiration for many of the featured compositions having been drawn directly from previous works from the fields of visual and literary arts, the CJA's accompanying historical information also provides the public with an even deeper understanding for the important and ongoing intersection of American jazz throughout other areas of contemporary culture, and makes possible an even further resource for showcasing the broader influences of such renowned visual artists as painters Fernand Léger, James Whistler, and Francis Bacon, as well as such distinguished poets and authors as Blaise Cendrars, DuBose Heyward, Langston Hughes, and E. E. Cummings. Through the ongoing expansion of this new area of its online, public programming, in the months and years to come, the Center for Jazz Arts will be making available detailed information on hundreds of additional, jazz-influenced works from throughout the past century. About the CJA: Established in 2004, the Center for Jazz Arts is an international institution devoted to the study and advancement of American jazz culture throughout the visual, literary, and classical arts, around the world. Through its primary operations in Los Angeles, it is building a prominent new platform of engagement for students, artists, educators, and the broader public, from every generation. To contact the CJA: Public Relations Center for Jazz Arts (866) 950-5200 info@centerforjazzarts.com [ back to top ]