The Philly POPS Presents A Month Of Programming For National Jazz Appreciation Month

The Philly POPS JAMS for the month of April, with a full month of activities supporting the nationwide celebration of Jazz Appreciation Month - including educational content from POPS in Schools @ Home, virtual masterclasses from members of The Philly POPS and the Jazz Orchestra of Philadelphia, virtual student performances in the All-City Jazz Festival, "Notes from the Masters of Jazz" videos from Artistic Director for Jazz Terell Stafford and acclaimed saxophonist Tim Warfield, and a special surprise for month's end.

Each year, the POPS celebrates Jazz Appreciation Month with the All-City Jazz Festival, a day of free jazz performances by student and professional musicians. This will be the POPS's seventh year presenting this event. Terell Stafford-Artistic Director for Jazz for The Philly POPS, Director of Jazz Studies and Chair of Instrumental Studies at Temple University, and Director of the All-City Jazz Orchestra-has been an integral part of All-City Jazz for years.

For last year's All-City Jazz Festival, Terell led a virtual ensemble in Duke Ellington's "In A Mellow Tone." This year, Terell has directed the All-City Jazz ensemble students and brought in guest artists for masterclasses in preparation for this year's festival, which will be available at phillypops.org and on the POPS social channels.

Throughout the day, students will be able to tune into a variety of programs, including a seminar covering "Majoring in Music," along with performances from the All-City Jazz Orchestra, and combo performances by students from the University of the Arts and Temple University.

The week leading up to April 30, the POPS will release one masterclass per day on the POPS' YouTube channel and Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. These masterclasses will focus on section playing in a big band and will cover technique, musicianship, and theory on seven different instruments. Artistic Director for Jazz Terell Stafford will present and perform the masterclass for trumpet students. Other musicians include renowned saxophonist and educator Tim Warfield, pianist Eric Wortham-touring pianist for Adele and Jill Scott, Jazz Orchestra of Philadelphia drummer Steve Fidyk, POPS trombone Randy Kapralick, POPS guitar Kevin Hanson, and bassist David Wong.

All JAM! content will be available on The Philly POPS website, including POPS in Schools @ Home and POPS @ Home pages, on The Philly POPS social channels @thephillypops, and on The Philly POPS' YouTube channel. All events are free and open to the public. For more details on JAM!, visit www.phillypops.org/jam.

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