Are you a female-identifying music student?
You’re invited to…
JAZZGIRLS DAY
Saturday, April 1 at 3 PM
A conversation with professional Jazz musicians and other student musicians from Durham, NC!
The event features special guest trumpeter/composer Arnetta Johnson and bassist Dr. Natalie Boeyink, Lydia Dudley, Serena Wiley, Jasmine Best, Shaena Ryan Martin and Dr. Lenora Helm Hammonds.
This event is free to Student Musicians!
We hope that you’ll come and bring a friend!
Hosted in Conjunction with:
History of JazzGirls Day
It was founded by Sarah Cline, director of the legendary jazz program at Berkeley High School in San Francisco in 2012. The events and program were meant to encourage young women to explore jazz and improvisation. A subsequent event was presented at the Jazz Education Network conference in 2017, which sparked the idea for an event in North Carolina. Since its inception, similar JazzGirls Day programs have been produced in El Paso, Boston, Seattle, Washington D.C., and Phoenix, as well as at SFJAZZ and JALC.
In March 2019, the first NC JazzGirls Day (JGD) took place on the UNC-Wilmington campus. The event brought together an all-female team of educators and performers to mentor young jazzwomen. Participation in JGD was open to all middle school and high school students who identified as young women who were interested in exploring jazz. All instruments and voices were welcome, and there was no prerequisite of jazz experience or participation in a school jazz ensemble. Twelve middle school and high school jazz girls participated in the inaugural event’s activities. In fall 2020, UNC-Greensboro director of Jazz Studies Steve Haines produced a successful JazzGirls Day event, with 38 participants and featuring saxophonist/composer Camille Thurman.
JazzGirls Day’s Mission
UNC-Wilmington jazz coordinator, assistant professor/bassist and NC JazzGirls Day producer Natalie Boeyink describes the mission of JazzGirls Day:
“The purpose of JGD is multi-layered. It is an opportunity for young jazzwomen to build comradery and play together when they are usually a small minority in their school’s jazz ensemble. They get to work on their jazz skills and improvisation in an environment free from worrying about mistakes and how their male peers may be judging them. JGD provides a safe environment to get their questions answered and conduct an honest discussion about the jazz industry. It gives participants a network of women jazz educators and professionals in the state. Best of all, they get to interact with and witness professional jazzwomen performing at a high level, modeling a career path for jazzwomen vocalists and instrumentalists.”