Students From Across the Nation Chosen to Participate in Prestigious Gibson/Baldwin GRAMMY High School Jazz Ensembles Program

Business Wire, Jan 23, 2003

Entertainment/Lifestyle Editors

SANTA MONICA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 23, 2003

Twenty-four talented high school students have been selected for a position in the Gibson/Baldwin GRAMMY(R) High School Jazz Ensembles. Their selection will launch them into the spotlight surrounding the 45th Annual GRAMMY Awards, as well as provide the opportunity to rehearse and perform in front of some of the biggest names in the music industry.

The students, who represent 23 cities and nine states, will travel to New York City for a jam-packed musical adventure. They will participate in intensive rehearsals February 17 - 18 under the direction of Musical Directors Justin DiCioccio of the Manhattan School of Music and Dr. Ron McCurdy of the University of Southern California Thornton School of Music. The Ensembles will then perform at renowned jazz clubs in New York, including The Jazz Standard on February 20 (7:30 & 9:30 p.m.). As a grand finale, they will attend the 45th Annual GRAMMY Awards on February 23 as guests of the Recording Academy.

"The Gibson/Baldwin GRAMMY High School Jazz Ensembles continue to provide a special and unique opportunity for aspiring high school musicians," says GRAMMY Foundation and Recording Academy(R) President Neil Portnow. "It's a once-in-a-lifetime experience that offers young people the chance to meet and play with peer musicians from across the country, perform with GRAMMY-nominated artists and attend the GRAMMY Awards. Through great initiatives like this, the GRAMMY Foundation is working hard to engage students in rewarding, hands-on educational programs, and to keep music and arts programs in schools."

In addition, the Jazz Band and Choir will perform at the GRAMMY Concerts for Young People (a live concert that introduces elementary school students to various styles of jazz), to be held at the historic Apollo Theater on February 19 from 12 - 1 p.m. Students also are eligible for college scholarships through the college incentive program (more than $2 million was awarded in 2002).

This year, Gibson Guitar and Baldwin Piano have teamed up with the GRAMMY Foundation to sponsor the 2003 Gibson/Baldwin GRAMMY High School Jazz Ensembles. The International Association for Jazz Education (IAJE) provides the outreach to the music education community.

Students interested in the 2004 Gibson/Baldwin GRAMMY High School Jazz Ensembles program can download the application from www.grammy.com (click on GRAMMY Foundation, click on High School Jazz Ensembles) or contact the GRAMMY Foundation at grammyfoundation@grammy.com or 877-GRAMMY-Ed. The GRAMMY High School Jazz Ensembles program was launched regionally in 1993 and expanded nationally in 1999.

Gibson is known worldwide for producing classic models in every major style of fretted instrument, including acoustic and electric guitars, mandolins and banjos. Founded in 1894 in Kalamazoo, Michigan and headquartered in Nashville since 1984, Gibson Guitar Corp.'s family of brands now includes Epiphone, Dobro, Kramer, Steinberger, Tobias, Slingerland, Trace Elliot and Maestro. Baldwin has been one of the most highly respected names in the piano business since 1862. Gibson acquired Baldwin in 2001, bringing Baldwin, Wurlitzer, Chickering and Ellington pianos into the Gibson family. Visit www.gibson.com or www.baldwinpiano.com.

The mission of the International Association for Jazz Education (IAJE) is to assure the continued worldwide growth and development of jazz and jazz education. As a part of that mission, the Association initiates programs which nurture and promote the understanding and appreciation of jazz and its heritage, provides leadership to educators regarding curricula and performance, assists teachers and practitioners with information and resources, and takes an active part in organizing clinics, festivals and symposia at local, regional, national and international levels. Presently, active memberships total upwards of 7,000 teachers, musicians, students, music industry representatives, and enthusiasts in 35 countries.

The GRAMMY Foundation, a nonprofit arm of the Recording Academy, is dedicated to engaging students of all ages through music and arts-based education programs. With initiatives that include mentoring, archiving and preservation, and the Leonard Bernstein Center's Artful Learning(R) curriculum, the Foundation strives to cultivate understanding, appreciation and advancement of the arts across the country. For more information about the Foundation and its programs, please visit www.grammy.com.

Selectees to the 2003 Gibson/Baldwin GRAMMY High School Jazz Ensembles are (listed by each student's name, hometown and school):

2003 Gibson/Baldwin GRAMMY High School Jazz Band

Lisa Barbano      Placentia, Calif.     El Dorado High School
James Blackwell   Lake Jackson, Texas   Brazoswood High School
Brady Cohan       Los Altos, Calif.     Homestead High School
Nicholas DePinna  Pleasanton, Calif.    Foothill High School
Stephen Dionisio  Diamond Bar, Calif.   Los Angeles County High School
                                         of the Arts
Marcus Gilmore    Hollis, N.Y.          LaGuardia High School of
                                         Performing Arts
Catie Hickey      Naperville, Ill.      Naperville North High School
Alex Hoffman      Potomac, Md.          Winston Churchill High School
Remy Le Boeuf     Santa Cruz, Calif.    Pacific Collegiate Charter
                                         School
Matt Marantz      Cedar Hill, Texas     Booker T. Washington High
                                         School
Michael Padgett   Hermosa Beach, Calif. Los Angeles County High School
                                         of the Arts
Anja Parks        New York, N.Y.        LaGuardia High School of
                                         Performing Arts
Bryan Reeder      Northport, N.Y.       Northport High School
Karl Sellsted     Bellevue, Wash.       Newport High School
Jeremy Sinclair   Rockwall, Texas       Rockwall High School
Curtis Taylor     Bedford, Ohio         Bedford Senior High School
Ivan Taylor       Harvey, Ill.          Thornton High School
Michael Watson    Clinton, Ohio         Jackson High School


2003 Gibson/Baldwin GRAMMY High School Jazz Choir

Rachael Price      Hendersonville, Tenn.     Hendersonville High
                                              School
Jennifer Sanon     North Miami Beach, Fla.   New World School of the
                                              Arts
Samantha Sidley    Los Angeles, Calif.       Los Angeles High School
                                              of the Arts
Dominic Thiroux    Chatsworth, Calif.        Hamilton High School
                                              Academy of Music
Katie Thiroux      Chatsworth, Calif.        Hamilton High School
                                              Academy of Music
Chris Young        Murfreesboro, Tenn.       Oakland High School