Britt’s new Arts Career Exploration (ACE) program for high school students has launched. Thirteen students from the Medford School district were selected to participate in the year-long program that will culminate in a student-curated performance in the Britt Performance Garden in June 2015.
The students come from all three Medford High Schools:
North Medford: McKenna Cromwell, Kathleen Martin, Tyler Williams
South Medford: Gillian Frederick, Alex Gontcharov, Jahan Kahusi, Taryn Lacy, Kevin Laupola, Micaela Levesque, Julissa Martinez, Faith Pardini-Adams, Jerry Su
Central Medford: Maxwel Holston
“We are thrilled to welcome our thirteen ACEs into Britt’s operations for this coming year,” says Rachel Jones, Britt’s Director of Education and Community Engagement. “These students are bright, engaged and highly artistic, and this program provides them with an opportunity to channel their creativity in a meaningful way while learning real-world skills that will help them succeed in college and careers.”
The ACE program was funded in large part by a Connecting Students to the World of Work Grant from the Oregon Arts Commission (OAC). The Connecting Students to the World of Work Grant is a new program from the OAC, designed to connect underserved students to the work force by offering programs that engage students in the professional elements of an artistic/creative career field.
The ACE participants have been seeing the operations of Britt, attending concerts and events, observing a sound check, meeting artist tour managers. In the near future, students will be job shadowing box office, house and development/special events staff, as well as participating in individual special projects.
Britt Festivals invites audiences and artists to celebrate the joy of live performance, the power of community, and the magic of the Britt Experience. Through on-going education and audience development programs, Britt educates new generations of listeners, helping them discover the wonder of music and performance. In addition to presenting concerts, Britt Festivals maintains a formal education program through the Britt Institute. Established in 1985, the Britt Institute hosts a wide variety of learning opportunities through a multi-faceted approach of summer camps, workshops, school programs, college internships, and adult learning opportunities.