Washington Jazz Society nurturing local musical talent
When you think of jazz in Southwestern Pennsylvania, you might think of Pittsburgh’s blossoming jazz scene between the 1920s and 1950s, when the Hill District’s Crawford Grille attracted talents like Louis Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald, Dizzy Gillespie and Miles Davis.
Pittsburgh’s strategic location between New York and Chicago brought hundreds of jazz pioneers through the city’s many clubs and venues. That strong jazz tradition remains across the region, including south of Pittsburgh where the Washington Jazz Society works to keep the musical genre going strong.
The WSJ is a nonprofit organization founded in 2007 with the mission of educating the public about jazz music through concerts featuring national and local musicians. Washington Jazz Society also works to educate people about the historical development and significance of jazz music with a special emphasis on young musicians and young audiences and is the recipient of this month’s Driven By Hope Award, sponsored by Washington Auto Mall.
“It’s an amazing organization,” says DeDe MacTaggart, Washington Jazz Society president. “The people. … we’re all like family. Everybody is pushing in the same direction, and almost everybody has played an instrument at one time or another and some of them still do.”
Funding arts education
WSJ is dedicated to promoting live jazz music by local musicians and preserving jazz as an art. It also provides scholarships for deserving young musicians and jazz assistance education in the community. “We educate the public about jazz, and we want to be able to bring jazz to Washington County,” said MacTaggart. “We also want to provide scholarships for young musicians. We try to do $1,000 every year. This year, we did $2,000 because we did not have anyone last year. This year, we had two deserving people, so they both got $1,000 scholarships.”
The scholarship is open to high school seniors who are residents of Washington County and who plan to pursue higher education in music.
Washington Jazz Society relies on fundraising primarily through Washington County Community Foundation and through memberships, sponsorships and donations. It is a 501(c)(3) organization, and any donations are tax-deductible. Donations contribute to keeping jazz alive in Washington with live jazz shows and educational opportunities through the After-school Music Program that benefits financially insecure families.
Washington County students in middle school and junior high school are qualified to participate and receive a free instrument, music, and 36 private lessons by a qualified teacher on an instrument of the student’s choosing. Vocal students are also encouraged to participate.
“Not every person is good at sports or school stuff, but they may be amazing at a musical instrument,” said MacTaggart. “We offer 36 free lessons, and they get to pick which instrument they’re going to play. At the end of it, if they complete it, they get to keep the instrument also.”
The society is holding open enrollment for the program now. WSJ also accepts donations of musical instruments that you may no longer use. “Right now, we have piano people, and we have guitar people,” MacTaggart says. “If there’s somebody who wants to play something that we don’t have, we start looking for it.”
MacTaggart said her calling to spread her love of music started at a young age.
“I played piano, and I took dance. I’ve always been part of music,” she says. “I hear music in every sound I hear, and that is not a joke. You can make a tapping noise and I’ll put a melody with it. I think that everybody needs that in their soul. That’s what resonates with me. I think giving that gift to a kid is just huge. There’s so much music can teach you and it’s a wonderful experience playing music with others. Think about the confidence that it instills in you by doing that and learning how to do that. I hear music and I just love it. It just makes me feel good. It makes me happy!”
Washington Jazz Society is planning its annual fundraising jazz dinner in December at Loft Conference Center in Southpointe and also holds quarterly jazz events.
For more information on these and other events, how to get involved with Washington Jazz Society, how to support the organization financially or with an instrument donation, or to apply for the After-school Music Program or college scholarship, visit its website at washingtonjazzsociety.com.