El Paso Jazz Girls

OUR 5TH ANNUAL SUMMER COMPOSERS PROGRAM WAS A SUCCESS THIS YEAR. THROUGHOUT THE WEEK, PARTICIPANTS COMPOSED, ARRANGED, RECORDED, AND EDITED AN HOUR LENGTH CONCERT OF NEW SONGS THAT RANGED FROM PEACEFUL BALLADS TO BLUES SHUFFLES. EL PASO JAZZ GIRLS 5TH SUMMER COMPOSERS HAD 40 GIRLS SIGN UP, OUR FIRST EUPHONIUM PLAYER, AND THREE COMBOS WHERE GIRLS WROTE OWN ORIGINAL MUSIC AND GAVE AN HOUR-LONG PERFORMANCE TO A PACKED CAFETERIA OF ABOUT 75 PEOPLE. GERMAINE FRANCO AN OSCAR NOMINATED FILM COMPOSER (DISNEY'S ENCANTO AND COCO) AND EL PASO NATIVE ZOOMED IN A FOR A SPECIAL TALK ABOUT HER CAREER AND COMPOSITION PROCESS AND INVITED GIRLS TO A PRIVATE RECEPTION AND SCREENING OF ENCANTO AT THE EL PASO FILM FESTIVAL IN JULY - THIS WAS A HIGHLIGHT FOR THE GIRLS! WE ALSO HAD 3 JUNIOR TEACHING ARTISTS WHO WERE ALL A PART OF OUR INAUGURAL 2018 PROGRAM COME BACK TO TEACH THIS YEAR! SOME PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS INCLUDED THE COMPOSITION LAB WHERE GIRLS STARTED AND DEVELOPED SONG IDEAS WITH EACH OTHER. SOME OF THESE SONGS WERE FULLY FLESHED OUT IN THEIR COMBOS FOR THE FINAL PERFORMANCE AND OTHER SONGS ARE SEEDS THAT THEY CAN TAKE WITH THEM TO DEVELOP LATER. OUR SPECIAL TOPICS INCLUDED THE POWER OF MUSIC A TALK ABOUT CAREER PATHS IN THE MUSIC FIELD AND IMPORTANCE OF BEING YOURSELF, MEDITATION WHICH FOCUSED ON SHOWING GIRLS HOW TO COMBAT PERFORMANCE ANXIETY AND BRING JOY TO THEIR PRACTICE, AND ELECTRONIC MUSIC COMPOSITION WHICH INTRODUCED GIRLS TO FREE ONLINE SOFTWARE, MIDI COMPOSITION TECHNIQUES, AND HOW TO RECORD. WE MOVED TO A NEW LOCATION AT THE YOUNG WOMEN'S LEADERSHIP ACADEMY WHICH WAS TRULY AMAZING. AMY SMITH ONE OF OUR TEACHING ARTISTS IS THE MUSIC TEACHER THERE AND HELPED ORGANIZE ALL FACILITY NEEDS. WE HAD THREE MUSIC ROOMS, THE LIBRARY, AND COMMONS AREA TO MEET, THE CAFETERIA PROVIDED FREE BREAKFAST AND LUNCH TO GIRLS, AND THE CONCERT WAS HELD ON THE CAFETERIA STAGE. ONE OF THE GIRLS' PARENTS ALSO SET UP A CONCESSION STAND DURING THE CONCERT. DURING OUR EXIT SURVEYS, 100% OF PARTICIPANTS RESPONDED THAT THEY ENJOYED THE SUMMER PROGRAM, WITH ONE OF THE HIGHLIGHTS BEING COMPOSITION LAB WHERE GIRLS LEARNED HOW TO START WRITING SONGS FROM BIG PICTURE IDEAS TO MELODY, HARMONY, LYRICS, AND FINISHING TOUCHES. OUR GOAL WAS TO HAVE GIRLS FEEL MORE CONFIDENT IN THEIR MUSIC COMPOSITION SKILLS AND WE ACCOMPLISHED THIS BASED ON FEEDBACK AND BY PROVIDING GIRLS WITH CONCRETE COMPOSITION STRATEGIES TO START IDEAS.