Boysie Lowery Living Jazz Residency
The program will be held at The Queen Theater in Wilmington, Delaware from June 9 - June 23 of 2019APPLICATION FOR THE 2019 SEASON DEADLINE EXTENDED TO APRIL 7, 2019
Eligibility
This residency has been designed with the dedicated performer/composer in mind. Jazz musicians
from age 17 through age 25 who compose and perform and who reside/attend school anywhere in
the U.S. or U.S. territories are eligible to apply. Applicants should have a passion for jazz in its
many forms, a willingness to collaborate with other passionate musicians, and the drive to push the
boundaries of the music. They should also be comfortable reading and writing music, improvising
over changes, and working in an ensemble setting.
Faculty
Participants will be introduced to a variety of harmonic, melodic, sonic, and textural possibilities, and then be asked to apply them to new compositions that will be played in rehearsal for immediate feedback. Students will constantly be able to workshop new and old works, thus, allowing them to begin to develop a sound of their own. Our goal is not to mold students into clones of past jazz legends, or ourselves, but to give them a space where they can define their own unique sound. They will be lead through this journey by:
Past Master Class Clinicians
Boysie Lowery Jazz Residency Alumni
2018 Alumni
Isabel Crespo, Voice, University of North Texas
Ike Spivak, Saxophone
Nicholas Pietuszka, Trumpet, University of Delaware
Ian Sadock, Piano, University of the Arts
Isaiah Keith, Drum Set, University of Delaware
Mike Casey, Tenor Sax, Jackie McLean Institute at University of Hartford
Skyler Hill, Guitar, University of North Texas
Bryan Cowan, Baritone Saxophone, University of the Arts
Emilio Mesa, Alto Saxophone, University of North Texas
Joshua Roberts, Drums
Jacob Moore, Bass, University of Delaware
Elijah Goldstein, Trumpet, James Madison University
Samantha Spear, Alto Saxophone, Berklee College of Music
Simon Schrag, Bass, Denver University
David D’Arville, Guitar
2017 Alumni
Isabel Crespo, Voice, University of North Texas
Nicholas Pietuszka, Trumpet, University of Delaware
Anthony Stoika, Drum Set, Shepherd University
Michael Talento, Tenor Sax, West Chester University
Nathaniel Hawk, Piano, University of the Arts
Grady Tesch, Vibes, New York University
Ike Spivak, Alto Sax, University of Denver
Jared Radichel, Bass
Peter Blake, Bass
Kristin Monroe, Trombone, University of Delaware
Isaiah Keith, Drums, University of Delaware
Ian Sadock, Piano, West Chester University
2016 Alumni
Dominic Palombi, Drum Set, Rutgers University
Oliver Glynn, Piano, University of North Carolina
Clifford Morin, Alto Saxophone, West Chester University
Kevin Matthews, Drums, University of Denver
Santiago Chiriboga, Drum Set, Berklee College of Music
Julian Jayme, Guitar, Berklee College of Music
Quentin Walston, Piano, James Madison University
Erick Miranda, Saxophone, West Chester University
Evan Levine, Double Bass, University of Michigan
Kristin Monroe, Trombone, University of Delaware
Alexandra Hany, Trumpet, Manhattan School of Music
Joseph Streater, Trumpet, University of the Arts
Cole Davis, Upright Bass
Chien Chien Lu, Vibraphone, University of the Arts
Joseph Pearlman, Upright Bass, The New School
2015 Alumni
Perrin Grace, Bass, Manhattan School of Music
Sebastian Chiriboga, Drums, Berklee College of Music
Matt Dwonszyk, Bass, Suny Purchase
Reginald Payne, Bass, Berklee College of Music
Kevin Matthews, Drums, University of Denver
Amrom Svay, Saxophone, SUNY Purchase
Erick Miranda, Saxophone, West Chester University
Dominic Palombi, Drums, Rutgers University, Mason Gross School of the Arts
Clifford Morin, Saxophone, West Chester University
Quentin Walston, Piano, James Madison University
Bennett Atwater, Guitar
Julian Jayme, Guitar, Berklee College of Music
Oliver Glynn, Piano, University of North Carolina School of the Arts
Questions?
Contact the Light Up the Queen Foundation at boysielivingjazz@lightupthequeen.org
The “Boysie” Lowery Living Jazz Residency is a two-week performance and composition project for
the next generation of jazz composers, who, with their talent and passion are keeping jazz alive.
It is designed to give students an intense learning experience that will help them begin to find their
sound, mature as a player, mature as a musician, and make lasting connections with like-minded
peers. LUQ’s summer jazz residency receives program development guidance from John F.
Kennedy Center’s prestigious international jazz program – the Betty Carter Jazz Ahead
project. Under the direction of Jonathan Whitney, the program sessions will be led by teaching and
guest artists, selected from the rich pool of talented music professionals who reside, teach and /or
work in the mid-Atlantic region.
The immersive environment of this two-week residency will encourage creative exploration and
exchange between the participants 24 hours a day. Participants will be given the opportunity to
develop personal strategies for pursuing career opportunities while being surrounded by a
stylistically and culturally diverse community of mentors and peers includes daily workshops and
rehearsals culminating in a final performance on the last day of the Clifford Brown Jazz Festival on
the main stage at the Queen Theater, in Wilmington, Delaware.
The Light Up The Queen Foundation will provide the participants with room and board in
partnership with The Kenny Family Foundation and The Delaware College of Art and Design.
Transportation to and from Wilmington, DE will be the responsibility of the residency participant.
There is no application fee or tuition.
Testimonials
Amrom Svay, 2015
“In the music playing aspect it made me think in a different light on how to make the music happen and forced me to used untapped reserves that I had not seen in myself in quite a long time and has permeated the music that I normally play. A key shift in mindset about making the music happen occurred to me at this program last summer.”
Julian Jayme, 2015
“It was fantastic working with so many amazing instructors and receiving so many amazing masterclasses. After the residency, I felt even more inspired to write than I had previously. The advice I got from each of the instructors was priceless as well. I got some great rhythmic knowledge from both Tom Palmer and Matt Scarano, some priceless philosophical advice from the great Mike Boone and was immersed in the realm of harmony during our class with Don Glanden (even wrote a tune based on some chord changes we came up with during class). Jonathan Whitney and Tina Betz were also very supportive and definitely made us all feel like we could try things out (while also giving us great advice).”
Perrin Grace, 2015
“This residency gave me some serious connections. Aaron Goldberg, a Jazz hero of mine, was teaching a master class one day. We played a bit, exchanged info and now I have the privilege of meeting him to play sessions.”
Robert “Boysie” Lowery was born in Kinston, North Carolina and studied trumpet with his father, who
was a bandleader and blacksmith, and his brother Bud, who played clarinet and saxophone in his
father’s band. Early on, Bud began mentoring his younger brother, teaching him how to read music
and instructing him in the basics of music theory. This personal attention provided Lowery with the
foundation from which he was to develop his own unique teaching method and philosophy of jazz
improvisation. In the early 1940s, Lowery moved to Wilmington, Delaware where he formed a band
called the Aces of Rhythm. And it is in Wilmington where Boysie began his extraordinary career as a
jazz educator.
For over 50 years, Lowery taught hundreds of aspiring musicians. His most noted pupil, however,
was the late Clifford Brown, considered by many to be the finest trumpeter of the time. Clifford began
his study with Lowery at the age of 12 while a student in Wilmington’s public schools. Lowery’s list of
pupils also includes some of the finest jazz musicians to come out of the Delaware Valley including
Lem Winchester, Ernie Watts, Abdu-Rashid Yahya, Marcus Belgrave, and Gerald Chavis. In
addition, Lowery had been sought out by musicians as far away as Russia (Valery Ponomarev) and
Africa (Hugh Masekela). Prior to his death in 1996, the Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation
awarded Lowery with its 1995 Living Legacy Award.
Video: Jason Moran and Casey Benjamin discuss Betty Carter, and their time at Jazz Ahead with Betty in 1998.