Richmond Jazz Society Incorporated

Programs: Guest educators series: initiated in 1980, rjs features diverse local, regional, and national and international musicians and educators in lecture and demonstrations to help the general public understand how this uniquely american music is created. 12 shows featuring 5 national jazz recording artist and 7 regional artist were presented this year. The series also hosted a cd release event for a regional artist. Number of events - 12; number of artists - 54; audience - 1,310education & outreach programs:the "make music with me band" travels to schools, day care and recreation centers, malls,etc. Throughout richmond and surrounding counties to delight audiences with jazz and to get them to perform. The "bright moments jazz band" visits a variety of senior citizen and recreation centers and living residences. The band was rated on of the best activities enjoyed by the residents and is requested for return visits from each facility it visits. The "make music with me band" remains a popular activity with young audiences. Number of events-22; number of artist-100; audience/adults-2,395; children- 2,552collaboration/program & technical support:rjs colloaborates with organizations in the community specifically to address the need of bringing residents of diverse ethnic, religious and socio-economic backgrounds together using jazz as the common denominator. Rjs scheduled a wide variety of jazz music for these presenters to attract the city and counties diverse populations to visit their venues. Music ranged from traditional and contemporary american jazz to jazz mixed with carribbean, european, african and latin influences. Technical assistance was provided for richmond performing arts alliance at center stage; jazz for justice at va. Commonwealth university, the fredericksburg jazz collectivejazz lunch series with st. Paul episcopal church - st. Paul church hosted 5 weeks of jazz lunches "to celebrate god's creation through music". 33 richmond based jazz artist were booked by rjs for the series. This series has been ongoing for 15 years. Attendence - approx. 525dominion jazz cafe'series at the va. Museum of fine arts - rjs programmed 3-hour performances for 52 consecutive weeks featuring over 200 of the finest jazz artists in the region. Artist:200+; audience:10,275+ella at 100! - rjs produced a 2-act theatrical production in collaberation with the va. Repertory theatre to join an international celebration of virginia native ella fitzgerald, recognizing the anniversary of her 100th birthday. The production played to a sold out audience of over 600 adults and children. Media projects:maintains a facebook page with over 2,000 fans, publishes its monthly electronic newsletters,"vajazz news" e-letters that features news from around the commonwealth and comprehensive calendar of virginia jazz events. Maintained a virginia website at wwww. Vajazz. Org which is devoted to providing a network of information and opportunity for jazz presenters, educators, fans and musicians, worldwide. Mailed mailer cards to subscribers. Jazz radio shows - supported jazz radio programs on wrir 97. 3 fm and wcve 88. 9 fm and wdce 91. 3 (univeristy of richmond) and an online radio program "destination jazz". The shows were heard worldwide via the internet at www. Wvajazz. Org. Social media: the rjs facebook page offers interviews, photographs and video clips of guest educators series performances. The site is interative, allowing fan comments and musician announcements. Promotional/technical services and support:rjs provided assistance to artist and other presenters by way of artist bookings, concert planning, stage management, marketing, audience development and promotional support to numerous organizations, churches, and businesses. Arts referral service:rjs is a clearinghouse for persenters of concerts, festivals, receptions, and variety of public and private events. Rjs contracted 90 performances creating 343 job opportunities for area musicians. Preservation project:rjs curated virginia jazz:early years, an exhibition planned with the cooperation of professional museum consultants, exhibition designers and it specialists to present over 30 virginia artists who had made significant contributions to the development of jazz from the early 1900's to the mid 1960's. Rjs partnered with the valentine richmond history center to provide gallery space for the historic exhibition for installation september 2017 - april 2018. Accomplishments - rjs was recognized for its service of over 35 years to the virginia jazz community by the 2016 congressional black caucus foundation at its national convention in washington, dc.

donated program services were provided at the fair value of $41,289 in the areas of contractual and educational services, advertising, contract services, entertainment, printing, promotional materials, musician fees, occupancy, printing, professional fees, operating supplies, equipment and facility rental, and preservation project.