Education
Youth Education
It's so important to expose the next generation of performers and fans to jazz music at an early age so they can choose what they like and learn from the masters.
Berkshires Jazz conducts master classes, workshops, and joint concerts with student bands and touring musicians.
Jazz In Schools
Thousands of students have experienced live jazz in Berkshire County classrooms and assembly halls thanks to Jazz In Schools.
Jazz In Schools features performances, demonstrations, and discussions by Andy Kelly’s Jazz Ambassadors — a local group of dedicated jazz musicians and music educators headed by guitarist and teacher Andy Kelly.
Andy Kelly’s Jazz Ambassadors have given hundreds of concerts in schools and at civic events throughout the Northeast United States and Europe, performing and teaching about Jazz, a uniquely American art form. The band has traveled overseas as cultural ambassadors, performing and teaching in Nicaragua, Cuba, Ireland, Italy, and Turkey.
School principals and administrators have praised this community commitment and the positive impact it has had on students.
Thanks to generous underwriters (such as The Feigenbaum Foundation), Jazz In Schools is provided at no cost to the school system.
Berkshires Jazz Youth Ensemble
The Berkshires Jazz Youth Ensemble provides Berkshire county high school students with the opportunity to perform alongside jazz masters.
In 2009, the Ensemble performed with jazz legend Dave Brubeck!
Annual Student Art Contest
Berkshires Jazz holds a contest for Pittsfield CityJazz Festival art each year.
Local high school art students learn about jazz then capture the feeling of jazz in their artwork. There were 75 submissions in 2024!
Submitted artwork is displayed in Pittsfield City Hall throughout April — Jazz Appreciation Month — and contest winners and honorable mentions are announced prior to the Pittsfield City Jazz Festival. Small cash prizes are awarded to the top three winners.
The Student Art Contest was conceptualized by Art Niedeck, a retired jazz musician and educator.
Kids 4 Harmony
Berkshires Jazz partners with Kids 4 Harmony throughout the year.
Kids 4 Harmony is a free, intensive classical music program for youth from some of the most under-resourced communities in Berkshire County.
Kids 4 Harmony is inspired by Venezuela’s El Sistema, an ensemble-based music program for social justice change. Kids 4 Harmony focuses on musical excellence, student well-being and development, and family support, building the skills, access, and support for participants to succeed in music and beyond. Kids 4 Harmony is the only El Sistema-inspired program embedded within a social services agency (18 Degrees in Pittsfield).
