Open High student select to prestigious Summer Jazz Academy

Drew Anderson will have the opportunity to play trumpet alongside his role model, jazz musician Wynton Marsalis.

May 18, 2015; 11:30 AM • by Richard Hayes

From the press release:

Open High School graduating senior Drew Anderson will have the opportunity to play trumpet alongside his role model, jazz musician Wynton Marsalis, this summer when he participates in the nationally acclaimed Jazz at Lincoln Center – Summer Jazz Academy in Castleton, Va.

Following a very selective audition process, Anderson was chosen to join 41 of the nations top high school musicians for a two-week intensive jazz performance institute. Designed and instructed by Jazz at Lincoln Center Managing and Artistic Director Wynton Marsalis and a select faculty, Anderson will perform in big bands and small combos, receive private lessons, and take classes in aesthetics, culture, history, performance practice and pedagogy. The inaugural session of Summer Jazz Academy will take place on July 19 – August 3, 2015.

Jazz at Lincoln Center chose to locate its institute in Rappahannock County, Virginia at the Castleton Festival, a not-for-profit summer performance series and young artists training program founded by the late Maestro Lorin Maazel and his wife Dietlinde Turban Maazel to mentor talented young professional musicians in the world of concert and opera performance in a harmonious, supportive setting. Castleton, 550 acres of rolling meadows with views of the Blue Ridge Mountains, two professional theater venues, rehearsal spaces, and artist housing, is the location of the Castleton Festival and home to the Maazel family.

Drew Anderson graduates June 2015 and will attend The New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music in New York, New York, on a four-year, full-tuition scholarship valued at $170,000. The New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music, founded in 1986, is one of the most influential institutions of its kind. The quality and uniqueness of the school lie in its artist-as-mentor approach to learning, its progressive curriculum, small ensemble-based performance, a stellar faculty composed of artist-practitioners, and access to unique musical opportunities throughout New York City.

Additionally, Anderson was awarded a four-year, full tuition scholarship to Berklee College of Music through the Berklee City Music Network. He participated in the Berklee City Music Network program through the Richmond Youth Jazz Guild. During his seven years of study at the Richmond Youth Jazz Guild, Anderson was prepared for the rigors of college and conservatory auditions as well as for national performing arts programs such as the Summer Jazz Academy.

During high school, Anderson earned full tuition scholarships to attend Berklee College of Music’s prestigious Five Week Summer program while in 9th, 10th and 11th grades. These scholarships ranged from$5,000 to $10,000. Other honors include: receiving outstanding soloist at the Regional Jazz at Lincoln Center Essentially Ellington High School Jazz Festival held at UNC Chapel in 2013 and 2014 and performing for notables such as former President of the United States – Bill Clinton, Quincy Jones, Christian McBride, Trombone Shorty, and Terri Lynne Carrington.