Belleville High School Receives Madison Jazz Society 2018-19 Grant

In November, the Madison Jazz Society awarded grants totaling $7,650 from its School Grant Fund to music programs in sixteen Wisconsin schools. The grants are funding jazz centered programs designed to help students learn about and perform jazz.
In announcing the awards, MJS President Linda Marty Schmitz stated, “We are very proud that the money awarded this year and since the program began in 1989 brings the total amount of scholarships and grants awarded by our all-volunteer group to over $126,000. We are pleased that these grants will assist students from all over Wisconsin now and in years to come. We are thrilled to see that many schools throughout the state are working to provide opportunities for their students to learn about America’s original art form – jazz.”
One of the grants was awarded to Belleville High School (Stephanie Meier, Director) - $500 to help purchase a portable keyboard for the jazz band’s use.
Other grants were awarded to Cambridge High School (Nathan Gerlach, Director) - $500 to support a clinic for the jazz students, along with a string bass that was donated to the Society to be given to a school; Gale-Ettrick-Trempealeau High School (Brenda Gauchel, Director) – $500 to support jazz clinicians to come into the school throughout the school year; Jefferson High School (Jennah Smet and Katherine Tuinstra-Scherek, Directors) - $500 to help purchase equipment to complete the band’s drum kit and $450 to support travel to a jazz clinic by the school’s vocal jazz ensemble; Madison: Jefferson Middle School (Carol Jenkins, Director) – $500 to support the MJS K-8 Guest Artist/Residency program; Mayville (JD Cooney, Director) - $500 to help building their jazz library for big band music; Menomonie High School (Jacob Karkula, Director) – $500 to hire a clinician to work with jazz band students; Middleton: Sauk Trail Elementary School (John Becker, Director) - $375 to support the “Making Jazz Music Child’s Play” program; Mount Horeb Middle School (Kellen Dorner, Director) - $425 to support a guest clinician for the 2018-19 school year; Platteville High School (Kevin Cooley, Director) – $500 to underwrite purchase of jazz charts to upgrade jazz library for the band; Reedsburg Area High School (Scott Bruer, Director) - $500 to support the Sauk County Honors Jazz Project; Spring Green: River Valley High School (Rebecca Schinker, Director) - $400 to support annual pops concert with a jazz theme; Verona High School (Paul Heinecke, Director) – $400 to underwrite a clinic led by Jim Stombres for jazz band students; Waupun Junior/Senior High School (Michelle Naegele, Director) - $400 to help purchase a vibraphone for the jazz band and Wisconsin Dells Spring Hill Middle and High Schools (Matt Roble, Marti Fults and Koreena Wood, Directors) - $500 to help purchase a bass amp for the jazz ensemble.
In addition, $200 each was awarded to Gale-Ettrick-Trempealeau, Minocqua; Lakeland Union High School and Wisconsin Dells schools to help repair their string bass instruments or serve as “seed” for a fund to purchase new string bass instruments.
More information on the school grant program and the Society can be found at www.madisonjazz.com. Formed in 1984, the Madison Jazz Society is a non-profit, all volunteer organization formed to encourage the performance of and education about jazz.