Trombonist and Augusta University’s Director of Jazz Studies Wycliffe Gordon will lead a jazz sextet Oct. 10 to raise money for the Jessye Norman School of the Arts.
“I always loved Jessye Norman as an artist,” said Gordon.
As he grew in his own musical career, he had the opportunity to interact with her and eventually call her “friend.”
MORE: Gordon Fell in Love with Jazz Early in Life
He recalled her bringing friends to hear him play at Dizzy’s Club in New York over Thanksgiving years ago and the times she invited him to play at fundraisers for the school bearing her name.
Gordon said the opera singer was “so elegant, so poised and was the epitome of graciousness.” She always made sure the artists she brought to play at the fundraisers were well taken care of.
Gordon said he respects her musical legacy, and that’s one of the reasons he wants to be part of Sunday’s event.
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The jazz concert will feature an eclectic mix of music.
Gary Dennis, the school’s executive director, said the concert had originally been planned as an in-person event, but it has been moved to live stream at 4 p.m. Sunday.
“This is a really hard decision,” he said.
Dennis said many of the school’s sponsors are 60 years old and above. When the invitations for the fundraiser went out, they started receiving checks and kudos, but no confirmations of attendance.
Four weeks before the event, no one had indicated they were coming, he said.
In an effort to keep people safe, but still have the fundraiser, Dennis said it was necessary to move the event to a live stream.
The performance will be professionally shot with three camera angles taking in the views to give a fuller experience.
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Dennis said the fundraiser is vital to the organization.
“We went from 10 years ago as a $50,000 organization renting Sunday school space to a $500,000 a year organization. It’s a double-edged sword,” he said.
This year, despite not having the fundraiser in 2020, the school expanded its summer camp program serving 200 children at three additional locations.
The fundraiser generates the equivalent of what is needed to cover those six weeks, he said.
“The concert this year is dedicated to the late Ann and Ellis Johnson, passionate supporters of the Jessye Norman School of the Arts and prolific philanthropists for local arts and education. Ann and Ellis Johnson were key in helping the school become the institution it is today, offering free tuition, free meals, free transportation, and free academic assistance to every student,” according to a news release.
Tickets to the live stream are $40 each and are available at jessyenormanschool.org.
Charmain Z. Brackett is the Features Editor for The Augusta Press. Reach her at charmain@theaugustapress.com.
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