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Key Of She - Virtual Week - 2020
Nov 19, 2020
Key Of She Jazz announces the next Key of She Virtual Week. This five-day conference will feature women-centered, presentations, workshops, master classes, lectures and more featuring such special guests as saxophonists Alexa Tarantino and Claire Daly, drummers Allison Miller and Sherrie Maricle, guitarist Monnette Sudler, historian Hannah Grantham, educators, Amanda Ekery, Lori Schwartz Reichl and Jenny Neff and violinist Diane Monroe.
KEY OF SHE VIRTUAL WEEK 2 - 2020
Nov. 30th to Dec. 4th, 2020 - 8:00-9:30 PM EST Daily
Click Here For More Information & Registration
Key of She Jazz was started more than five years ago by a (then) middle school girl, Olivia Hughart, and her friend who noticed they were among the only female players in their jazz big band, despite nearly equal numbers of girls and guys in band and orchestra. With the help of their director, they brought together girls in jazz throughout their district, built connection among the few girls in the group, and inspired the younger girls to keep playing.
In 2019, Key of She Jazz organized a first-ever Conference as a way to create a conversation among jazz students of all genders, band directors and music educators, parents, and the jazz community around obstacles to women in jazz; recognize jazz women whose contributions have been under-recognized; and create opportunities for girls and women to grow and increase participation in jazz. Feedback from our events have been overwhelmingly positive. In August 2020 we held the first Virtual Key of She Week, with 100 attendees from all over the world. A second virtual event is happening soon - November 30 – December 4, 2020.
Key of She hopes to make a more lasting impact, encouraging young girls to take up their instrument of choice, continue their jazz studies, and take their skills into the jazz and music industry.
Olivia Hughart is an NYU Sophomore and saxophonist and is founder/artistic director of Key of She Jazz (keyofshejazz.org), an organization that supports and encourages girls to be involved in jazz starting in middle school. Olivia has been studying saxophone for ten years and has studied with Larry McKenna, Chris Oatts, Andrew Neu, and Tony Miceli in Philadelphia and currently studies with Billy Drewes, Dave Pietro, Alan Ferber and Dave Liebman in New York. Olivia is a Women In Jazz Organization mentee of 2019 and 2020 and was also a recent feature artist on WRTI Philadelphia/NPR Music Live Sessions.
With the upcoming Key Of She Jazz conference close at hand, PJP asked Olivia Hughart to share her thoughts about the project and her music.
PJP: Can you briefly describe your musical direction?
Olivia Hughart: My musical path is always moving forward. It is challenging to be a jazz studies student while everything is virtual, and all of my classes are online. Playing with others is a crucial aspect of being at school, but I am doing my best to persevere and am using this time to become the best musician I can be by strengthening my playing and writing new tunes. This is certainly not the college experience I imagined as a music major, but I am grateful that we have technological capabilities to be able to be together while we are very much apart.
PJP: What and whom are pivotal musical influences on your creative approach?
Olivia Hughart: Because I am still a student, I have the opportunity to continue to learn from a wide variety of jazz masters. This year I have had the pleasure of studying with Dave Liebman and Dave Pietro in a split studio time, both of whom have strongly influenced my playing technically and conceptually.
Some of my favorite musicians that continue to inspire my creative approach are the Yellowjackets, Alexa Tarantino, Roxy Coss, Vi Redd, Mary Lou Williams, Geri Allen, Paul Desmond, Cannonball Adderley and Larry McKenna to name a few. The list is very extensive!
PJP: Tell us about your upcoming event? Why is it important?
Olivia Hughart: Our upcoming event is the Second Key of She Virtual Week! We will be hosting one session each day of the week (Monday Nov 30-Friday Dec 4, 2020) from 8:00 PM- 9:30 PM EST Daily. You can register for FREE to join us. We have sessions that will talk about strategies to diversify the classroom setting, how to teach music more inclusively, a rhythm masterclass, a virtual performance with a Q&A and we’ll wrap up the week with a panel of women in jazz to share their experiences. We have a terrific lineup of performers and speakers – all amazing women in music.
Our event will connect us with one another and provide an opportunity to network with those who are all the way across the world. Our first virtual event represented 15 different states and 5 different countries, which allowed us and our attendees to create lifelong friendships, even though we are virtual.
PJP: Who will be participating on this project with you?
Olivia Hughart: Key of She Jazz is composed of myself, Amy Hughart (Managing Director) and Dr. Jenny Neff (Leading Advisor). We have put together a great week of speakers who include Hannah Grantham, Amanda Ekery, Jenny Neff, Lori Schwartz Reichl, Allison Miller, Alexa Tarantino, Sherrie Maricle, Diane Monroe, Monnette Sudler and Claire Daly. Their bios are all up at THE KEY OF SHE JAZZ WEBSITE.
PJP: If folks want to find out more about it, how might they do that?
Olivia Hughart: To find more information, you can visit THE KEY OF SHE JAZZ WEBSITE. Here you can find information about our Free Virtual Event happening the first week of December 2020. We also have helpful resources available for women in jazz, Key of She merch, donation information, articles, and more!
PJP: Why Jazz? When you could be doing anything else, Why this music?
Olivia Hughart: Jazz is such a unique style of music which is one of the many reasons I love it. I was brought up listening to music that my parents loved, and jazz happened to be some of the music they would play all the time. I really enjoy how conversational the music is and how a community is formed by lovers of this art form. Learning the music keeps me on my toes because there is always room to take the music in a different direction.
KEY OF SHE VIRTUAL WEEK 2 - 2020
Nov. 30th to Dec. 4th, 2020 - 8:00-9:30 PM EST Daily
Click Here For More Information & Registration
You can keep up with Key Of She Jazz activities by checking them out on FACEBOOK, INSTAGRAM, TWITTER or via the KEY OF SHE JAZZ WEBSITE.
In addition, take a listen out these FREE PJP Mixtapes featuring strong performances by women artists, BETHLEHEM & ALEXA GOLD
Check Out These Videos Featuring Strong Female Performances & Leadership:
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Philadelphia Jazz Project, which is a sponsored project of the CultureWorks | Greater Philadelphia, with funding provided by The Philadelphia Foundation.
