For Immediate Release:
Contact: Paulina Phillips, 514-816-8423
or Liz Fixsen, 301-802-6896
Montpelier Hosts Third Annual Women in Jazz Panel Discussion
Laurel, Maryland –Nestled handily between Baltimore, Maryland and Washington, D.C., Montpelier Arts Center in Laurel has become a leader in hosting community cultural events. One of the most talked about is the Women in Jazz Panel Discussion held annually in March.
The topic for the March 31, 2019 panel is entitled “Women in Jazz: How to Jump-Start Your Career.” Topics include education and training, branding, and booking. Panelists include three dynamic females who are trendsetters, decision makers and educators in the world of jazz, making a particularly strong impact in the Mid-Atlantic region. The event is free to women, girls, and men who wish to attend. Parents and teachers are welcome, and networking is encouraged.
Currently residing in Northern Virginia is multiple award-winning and high-charting world music and jazz vocalist and WERA 96.7 FM radio host Lynn Veronneau. She has attracted listeners from around the world who appreciate both her musical gifts and insightful interviews. The Quebec-born artist has recorded three popular albums, the most recent being Love & Surrender in 2018. Her list of contributions grows continually. Veronneau is currently a mentor for Strathmore Music Center’s Artists in Residence 2019 graduate program.
District of Columbia audiences and critics recognize vocalist, jazz professor and singing coach Alison Crockett as one of the city’s first ladies of jazz. Like the late great Pam Bricker, she is known for using her voice on equal footing with any instrumentalist who might share the stage with her. Crockett has coached many of the District’s leading vocalists (co-panelist Lynn Veronneau is among them). She is on the jazz vocal faculty at George Washington University and is a choral teacher at the Fillmore Arts Center. She holds a master’s degree in music from Manhattan School of Music and a BM in jazz performance from Temple University. Her latest album, Obrigada, was recorded in Sao Paulo, Brazil and released in 2018.
WPFW’s Katea Stitt is widely known in the world of jazz radio. For many years, she has been acting station manager at the Pacifica-owned Washington, D.C. radio station WPFW, where she has served in various key positions. She also runs a highly successful booking agency, which represents internationally-acclaimed group Sweet Honey in the Rock, an all-woman, African-American a cappella ensemble.
In celebration of Women’s History Month, the panel continues the tradition of acknowledging the achievements of performing and recording artists and encouraging a new generation of musicians and vocalists. Whether you are considering a music career or are well along the path, there is much to learn about succeeding in the music business. “How to Jump Start Your Career” can help. Meet and learn from dynamic women who can help you stand out in a crowded field and move up the career ladder.
"Women in Jazz: How to Jump Start Your Career” is coordinated by jazz presenter and promoter Paula Phillips. The former arts director for Anne Arundel County and co-founder of Maryland Summer Jazz festival, Phillips heads Jazz Beyond Borders, an organization bringing world music and jazz to concert halls, classrooms, festivals and airwaves in North America and beyond. The panel arose from the popular “Jazz Talk” discussion series she founded as a volunteer project in 2015 with enthusiastic support from Montpelier Arts Center director Sonya Kitchen.
Past panels have included university professor and WPFW radio host Candy Shannon, trombonist Shannon Gunn, saxophonist Laura Dryer, Baltimore venue host and vocalist Marianne Matheny-Katz, trombonist Jennifer Krupa, and pianist and DC Women in Jazz Festival founder Amy Bormet. Acting Program Director Katea Stitt of WPFW returns from a previous year to cover new topics. “Women in Jazz: How to Jump Start Your Career” will be held Sunday, March 31 from 2:00 p.m. until 4:00 p.m. at Montpelier Arts Center, 9652 Muirkirk Road, Laurel, MD. Admission is free, and a meet-and-greet reception follows the formal program.
For more information about the panel, call Montpelier Arts Center at 301-377-7800 or visit
http://www.pgparks.com/2143/Montpelier-Arts-Center.
Learn more related events from http://washingtonwomeninjazz.com.
Jazz Beyond Borders is a Cultural Diversity Project of The Phillips Agency
P. O. Box 172 Davidsonville, MD 21035 USA www.jazzbeyondborders.com
P. O. Box 172 Davidsonville, MD 21035 USA www.jazzbeyondborders.com