We spent quite a bit of time talking about what it means to be a teaching artist, how to keep the balance, and stay inspired not only to practice our art but to be the best teacher, and one idea really stuck with me.

One of the other teaching artists mentioned that surgeons use this philosophy regarding their time:

1/3 of your time is spent studying
1/3 of your time is spent doing
1/3 of your time is spent teaching

It seems so simple when you look at it like that. I have tried to adopt this idea and over the last week have found it truly freeing. I am giving myself permission to study and do, instead of solely teaching. And the fantastic bi-product of that is that I find myself more excited about teaching and I’m equipped with more ideas and inspiration. One third is my new mantra.

I want to jump up and down, scream at of the top of my lungs, and shake people into understanding the magnitude of what I experienced. But even then, I have no idea what I would yell…

The grant has literally changed my life. That is a far more profound statement than even I fully realize. But when I think about life-changing moments, things that happen that define where a life goes, how a career forms, and helps determine what’s truly important – this is one of those moments.

There’s times when I get caught up in my everyday life, stressed out about teaching, trying to find time to practice more than 20 minutes, unable to keep my house clean, or make phone calls that need to be made and my grant trip seems like a faded memory and for a moment I have lost that feeling that I gained on that trip. It makes me sad, like I somehow wasted the experience on myself. Did I not learn anything?!?

But then there’s times when I can see (and feel) how that experience changed me. And now it continues to change me. Maybe I get an e-mail from someone I met, or a facebook post sparks my curiosity and all I can think about is what I’ve experienced and I’m just dieing to re-create it.

My day is up and down – when I’m playing, practicing, or composing I’m on this incredible musical high. I just want to experience it more, teach it to my students, and share it with the world. Then I find myself sitting with my inbox open dreading sending a much-needed e-mail and my world comes crashing down and I’m lost again.

Maybe that’s just the life of an artist. I know I’m always trying to find a balance between all the things I have to do in a day. Everyone can relate to that, but somehow I have to express what it like not to do that and what it was like to spend 5 weeks thinking about nothing but music, talking with musicians, taking lessons, and immersing myself in the jazz culture of whatever city I was in. Nothing I have experienced so far in life comes even close…

On October 22, the Surdna Foundation is flying the 15 grant winners out to NYC for a 3 day conference.  I’m really excited to meet the other people and learn about what they did. We each have to do an 8 minute presentation about our experiences. Any media (like a powerpoint presentation) needs to be sent in by Oct. 4. I’m again at a complete loss for words. I have no problem speaking in public, I could wing a 8 minute speech without even waking up, but I can’t seem to find the words to express what I did this summer in any sort of meaningful way.

How do I explain to someone who doesn’t know anything about jazz why spending 5 hours jamming with Leigh Pilzer and trying mouthpieces was so amazing. How do I explain theory classes with David Baker? How I express that the only reason I went to breakfast and ate powered eggs during Aebersold camp was because I hoped to have a conversation with Dan Haerle? How do I explain that Facebook is more than just a tool to find old high school friends, but also a incredible way to meet musicians, keep in touch, and network. How do I explain the joy of hearing the music of Mary Lou Williams played by the Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra for the first time and then getting a hug and kiss from David Baker after the show. How do I express the overwhelming sense of community and support that exists in the Chicago free jazz scene? How do I express how kind, helpful and giving all the musicians that I met were and what they have done for me and continue to do for me. I have SO MUCH to tell…. it’s overwhelming and amazing and everything that I could never express even if I sat down and wrote for the next week straight…

And that’s about how much time I have before my presentation materials are due.

Grant Funding:

MAP Fund
LETTER OF INQUIRY DEADLINE: October 15, 2009
The MAP Fund provides project-specific funding to playwrights, choreographers, directors, composers and performers experimenting in any performance tradition or discipline. The online letter of inquiry application opens on September 15, 2010.
http://mapfund.org/

Surdna Foundation Fellowships to High School Arts Teachers
LETTER OF INTENT TO APPLY DEADLINE: November 12, 2010
The Surdna Foundation is pleased to announce the eleventh round of the Surdna Arts Teachers Fellowship Program, a national initiative to support the artistic revitalization of outstanding arts teachers. Eligibility guidelines now include arts teachers working in specialized public arts high schools AND arts-focused magnet and charter high schools. Eligible teachers can apply for grants of up to $5,500 in support of artistic growth, with a complementary grant of $1,500 provided to each Fellow’s school for post-fellowship activities. Complete program information is available at: www.surdna.org/artsteachersfellowship

Bank of the West Charitable Investments Program
DEADLINE: December 31, 2010
Bank of the West’s Commitment to Community Charitable Investments Program provides grants to local nonprofit organizations dedicated to improving quality of life, particularly for low- and moderate-income individuals and communities. Grants are made in four categories including Civic and Cultural, and various geographic locations including eight counties in Arizona.
https://www.bankofthewest.com/about-us/community-support/charitable-investments.html

Jamey Aebersold, David Baker, Jerry Coker, Dan Haerle, Ed Soph, and Rufus Reid - July 16, 2010

One of the most amazing parts of attending the Aebersold Summer Jazz Workshop was getting to meet so many fantastic players and educators. I’ll be posting more about my experiences, but I felt like it was best to start with these 6 incredible people – the ones who started it all.

One of the most amazing parts of the camp for me was getting to personally interact with people, who up until that point in my life, has simply been authors of the jazz books I own. I was able to enjoy meals with them, ride elevators with them, sit near them at concerts, see them perform, take lessons, attend masterclasses and generally get to know them as people. It was truly incredible for me. I will share individual stories in another post – there’s many.

This picture was taken on the last day of the workshop and I have to admit, I got a little emotional. Jamey introduced each of them with a story and made us all laugh. It shows how much their friendship has been an important part of keeping the camp and jazz education alive.

Which got me thinking: what is the future of jazz education? I thought about what would happen when these guys don’t want to or can’t do this anymore. Who’s going to take over what they have started and keep introducing young and old alike to playing jazz?

I asked 2 people that I met at the camp that question, and got 2 very different answers, which I wanted to share.

The first, a bass player from Florida, said that it was over. He said no one would take over the camp and jazz education as we know it would end. I have to admit that was more than a little surprised by his comment. It was incredibly dark for the end of such an awesome week. But everyone’s perspective is different. I hope he’s not correct…

The second was a trombone player and middle school band director from New Orleans. When I asked him who was going to take over jazz education he looked at me and said “It’s going to be us.” I had to laugh – because that’s exactly what I was thinking.

It’s said that we need goals – I have a huge one. I want to be a good enough player and teacher that I will be asked teach at the Aebersold Workshop someday. I’m serious. I’ve got a shitload of work ahead of me – but it’s something I truly want.

Now unless you’re a jazz musician who’s been living under a bridge for the last 50 years, you’ve heard of Jamey Aebersold. I certain had. I own a decent number of his play-a-longs and quite a few of the jazz books that he publishes. Many of my teachers know him and so I had heard some stories. I still wasn’t entirely sure what to expect but I was very excited to meet him and hear what he had to say.

Jamey getting ready for the Anyone Can Improvise Seminar - he's was constantly moving - hence the blurry image.

The seminar was in lecture format – but I found Jamey’s insight, humor, and story-telling to be engaging and thought-provoking. The energy in the room was one of nervous curiosity, as students of jazz from all ages sat in college desks looking through hand-outs and getting ready to take notes. I had my iPad out (which had PDF’s of Jamey’s Red Handbook and some staff paper.) and my Zoom H4 which recorded probably 80% of the day (until my batteries died – poor planning on my part). I will have to go thru it at a later date and post some of the gems. A lot of what Jamey talked about resonated with me… especially his opening where he said “today is about liberating yourself from those things that hold you back.”

Sitting in the room with a bunch of strangers, I suddenly felt like this was one of those special moment in life, one of those life changing moments where you know that the decision you made to be there is the beginning of a huge change – and that it I was exactly where I needed to be. I have had a few of those moments in my life – when I dropped out of college and moved cities, when I decided to become a flute major at ASU, when I decided to take Mike Crotty’s arranging class in college, when I started teaching at ASA, and now today…

At lunch, I recorded this in my car. It doesn’t really say anything new that I didn’t mention above – and I’m just talking to myself while driving, but you can get the emotion and the understanding from my words. At the very least, you can hear my voice. Enjoy

Life Changing moment 1

I didn’t think much about it at the time, but as I got into my car afterward, the thought stuck me: How is it that he knows what I want to do when I don’t even know what I want to do? I briefly entertained the thought of going back into the bar and asking my friend what he thought I wanted to do, but decided that I would marinate on it for a little while and ask him later.

The truth is, I’m not always sure what I want to do. I’m easily caught up different things that excite me at the time and I have a hard time staying focused. There are a few things that I do know…

• I enjoy being able to play and improvise on more than one instrument.
• I am the most passionate about creative music, particularly jazz, but I enjoy creating new music in any style.
• I need to be constantly challenged.
• What I truly want is for the stuff in my head to be able to come out through my horn. That would be the best.

Hopefully this grant project will help me get a couple of steps closer to doing what I want to do.

But I doubt it. I find that the more I struggle, er tackle my own fears and insecurities, the more musicians I find who are doing the same. It doesn’t matter the age or level of experience or relative “success”… we are all fighting. That’s the quality I find the most admirable – it’s not talent or money or success. It’s the ability to pick up again after a huge failure and keep going. And we all have them.

I look at my life as a “professional musician” and I see huge failures. Not insurmountable, mind you, but enough to make it hard to get started sometimes. This is a huge part of what this grant is about…. I took a hard look at my successes (and there are many) and the areas that I need improvement (hahaha, the teacher in me talking there) and I figured out what I could use some real “professional growth” in. But I wasn’t done – I needed the heart.

No musician does what they do solely for the money. I find the one’s that do are often really unhappy. I struggle finding that balance between “doing my art” and “having a career” and it’s a constant juggling act. But your heart, your soul it has to be in whatever you are doing. Without it, things might work for a while, but eventually (and sadly, this could take years) it will crumble before you leaving you bitter and broken. We all know when our heart is in something – a project, a relationship, a job – but we don’t always listen.

In order for me to propose my fellowship, I needed to have my heart backing me up. What did I really want? If I had the money, no strings attached, what would I chose to do? What would truly make my life as an artist and musician better? Was I finally ready to admit what I really wanted? When asked, I always say “I just wanna play music” – but that’s only half the truth. The truth is that truly want to be an improviser, and a great one. I want to create something live and have it touch the world, even if only for a moment.

When I look at my professional life, it’s the biggest piece missing. And it’s the part I love the most. The part that gets me excited, the sparks that light, that fuels everything else. I channel it into other things – mostly arranging for school, but that has yet to keep me satisfied for long.

As the day my grant starts draws closer I find myself nervous. I was told it was a good thing – that being nervous meant I was getting out of my comfort zone and into something new. I’m definitely getting out of my comfort zone and working on admitting to myself where I am right now in this whole process so that I can move forward on my journey.

All I have to do is be willing to start. And I am.

One of my biggest weaknesses as a jazz player is knowing tunes. (“Knowing” in this case means that you have the melody and chord changes memorized and could play thru both without the use of a Real Book.) Over the years I have gathered many lists and I never know where to start. During the Aebersold Camp 2010, I had the privilege of listening to many fantastic jazz musicians and educators and then an idea hit me. Each faculty combo played 3 tunes at a time, so why not keep track of what the faculty chose to play and start there? They obviously chose those tunes for a reason. So here’s that list along with the tunes I read in my combo. Maybe it will give you a place to start as well.

1. It’s You or No One – Jule Styne
2. Lover Man – Davis-Ramirez-Sherman
3. Tea for Two – Vincent Youmans
4. Smoke Gets in Your Eyes – Jerome Kern
5. In a Sentimental Mood – Duke Ellington
6. Laura – David Raskin
7. You Stepped Out of a Dream – Nacio-Herb-Brown
8. United – Wayne Shorter
9. Taking a Chance on Love – Vernon Duke
10. What is this Thing Called Love – Cole Porter
11. Jeannine – Duke Pearson
12. The Preacher – Horace Silver
13. Billie’s Bounce – Charlie Parker
14. Recado Bossa Nova – Djalma Ferreira
15. Blue in Green – Miles Davis
16. Autumn Leaves – Joseph Kosma
17. Forest Flower – Charles Lloyd
18. Footprints – Wayne Shorter
19. Summertime – George Gershwin
20. Four on Six – Wes Montgomery
21. What’s New – Bob Haggard
22. Have You Met Miss Jones – Richard Rodgers
23. One Finger Snap – Herbie Hancock
24. You Don’t Know What Love Is – Raye-DePaul
25. Along Came Betty – Benny Golson
26. Whisper Not – Benny Golson
27. Tune Up – Miles Davis
28. My Little Suede Shoes – Charlie Parker
29. Groovin’ High – Dizzy Gillespie
30. Half Nelson – Miles Davis
31. Confirmation – Charlie Parker
32. Oleo – Sonny Rollins
33. I Mean You – Thelonious Monk
34. My Ideal – Richard Whiting
35. Bernie’s Tune – Bernie Miller
36. Blue Bossa – Kenny Dorham
37. Girl from Ipanema – Antonio-Carlos Jobim
38. I Got Rhythm – George Gershwin
39. I Can’t Get Started – Vernon Duke
40. I Could Write a Book – Richard Rogers
41. In Your Own Sweet Way – Dave Brubeck
42. Stablemates – Benny Golson
43. Minority – Gigi Gryce

PRESS RELEASE

Contact:
Monica Shriver
Arizona School for the Arts
(602) 257 – 1444
shriver@goasa.org
www.monicashriver.com

Monica Shriver wins Surdna Arts Teachers Fellowship
For Arizona School for the Arts

Surdna Foundation Awards $77,000 to High School Arts Teachers
in National Competition

Phoenix, AZ, June 2, 2010 – Local music teacher Monica Shriver (Age 32) has been selected to receive a $5,500 Fellowship from the Surdna Arts Teachers Fellowship Program.  Arizona School for the Arts, where Ms. Shriver has taught for 6 years, also has been awarded a complementary grant of $1,500 to support post-fellowship activities in the school.

The Surdna Arts Teachers Fellowship Program (SATF), a venture of the Surdna Foundation’s Thriving Cultures Program, recently announced Fellowship recipients for the tenth round of its national awards. Fifteen outstanding arts teachers, representing 14 specialized public arts high schools and arts-focused magnet and charter high schools from around the country, were selected from an initial pool of 67 applicants.  The teachers excel in a broad spectrum of visual, performing, and literary arts.

Award recipients were evaluated by a peer review panel based on demonstrated excellence both as artists and teachers.  All permanently assigned, full- and part-time arts faculty in eligible arts high schools were invited to submit applications.

Ms. Shriver plans to use the money to further her understanding and application of jazz improvisation and form mentor relationships with jazz professionals in three different cities: Louisville, KY, Washington DC, and Chicago, IL. Ms. Shriver will be conducting interviews and posting her experienceson the blog: http://saxymoni.com

“This is such an exciting and possible life-changing opportunity for me. The professionals that I am meeting and working with are so open and willing to share their love of jazz with me, which I will be able to pass on to my students. This fellowship is going to give me the opportunity to immerse myself in learning jazz improvisation ideas and techniques and will help me continue to inspire my students at Arizona School for the Arts. I am both humbled and honored to have been awarded this Fellowship.” said Ms. Shriver.

“We’re thrilled to be able to offer these Fellowships to teachers of the arts.  By focusing on their own creative work and interacting with professional artists and colleagues, these teachers are exposed to new ideas and practices that they can carry back to the classroom.  After ten rounds of Fellowships—and close to 200 Fellows—we’ve witnessed the transformative effect of the Fellowship experience on both the individuals and the schools,” said Ellen B. Rudolph, Program Director for Thriving Cultures, Surdna Foundation.

-more-

About the Surdna Foundation

The Surdna Foundation, a national family foundation established in 1917, seeks to foster just and sustainable communities in the United States—communities guided by principles of social justice and distinguished by sustainable environments, strong local economies, and thriving cultures.

One focus of the Surdna Foundation’s Thriving Cultures program is to strengthen the artistic abilities of teens while addressing the isolation and lack of opportunities for artistic advancement for young people from disadvantaged communities. Surdna hopes that these teens will contribute to the artistic fabric of the United States and to the evolution of new art forms. The goal of the Surdna Arts Teachers Fellowship Program is to support the artistic revitalization of their arts teachers.  Surdna strives to help them increase their effectiveness as they guide and train young people for careers or advanced study.

For the next round of Fellowships, Letters of Intent to Apply are due by November 12, 2010.  For application information, go to: www.surdna.org/artsteachersfellowship

One thing that has always fascinated me about jazz improvisation, and improvisation in general is how people who don’t know how to improvise label it at this phenomenon that is so far out of their reach. People who can do amazing things on their instruments are reduced to frozen deer in headlights when you mention improvisation. As children, we improvised all the time. Even when we first learn to play an instrument, we experimented and made stuff up, because we could. It’s so much fun! Somewhere along the line, someone told us that what we played was “wrong” and we decided to never compose something new on the spot again. It’s really sad actually. One of my “secret” goals in life is to try and reach professional classical musicians and teach them how to improvise – preferably through workshops and/or writing a book.

I was telling my arts coordinator this one day when she told me that I had my plan for the grant. I was kinda surprised – but ASA is a conservatory based model and jazz band is one of the things that is different and unique. What I’m essentially doing is teaching classical students how to play jazz and how to improvise. I had never thought about it that way. Now, imagine that I had more tools, more experiences, and more guidance to help me? That’s what my grant application is all about.

I spent hours working on the ideas, researching dates, and thinking about what I would like to do. I came up with a plan. I wrote my first curriculum vitae (with the help of a friend and google) in 24 hours and turned in the application 90 minutes before the deadline. Then things got so busy, I forgot all about it. Your browser may not support display of this image.

I found out this weekend that I was selected as a finalist. My heart literally skipped a beat when I read the e-mail. I may get money to travel around the country playing, listening and talking about jazz and then bring it back to my students. So cool! Now it’s time to solidify my plan – talk to the people involved (even though they don’t know it yet), figure out everything I need, and fill out the next part of the application. The whole process is exhilarating. Wish me luck!

For more information on Surdna, check out this link and look around. http://www.surdna.org/whats-new/news/82.html