Free Music Camp Being Offered In Red Bank's Jazz Arts Project

RED BANK, NJ — Young people from Monmouth County can apply for a free music camp, sponsored by the Gia Maione Prima Foundation, through the Count Basie Center for the Arts and Red Bank’s Jazz Arts Project.

Open to Monmouth County students entering grades 4 through 8 in the fall of 2023, the Louis and Gia Maione Prima Music Camp will connect young musicians to instruments and world-class instructors, all through the lens of jazz.

Named for the singer and widow of the late Louis Prima, the Gia Maione Prima Foundation supports and encourages the appreciation for American jazz, American popular music and jazz performance, as well as the fine arts. Louis Prima, who died in 1978, was a singer, songwriter, bandleader and trumpeter.

The objective of the camp is to offer a no-cost opportunity to students to experience hands-on instruction from professional musicians and dedicated, experienced music educators.

The program's mission, according to Jazz Arts Project founder Joe Muccioli, is to put “instruments in (students’) hands, music in their hearts and hope in their future.”

This year’s camp, available to both beginner and intermediate performers, takes place weekdays from July 10 to 21 at the Count Basie Center’s Monmouth Conservatory of Music, 65 Chestnut St.

A concert for family and friends of registered participants will be held at the camp’s conclusion.

Registration and additional information is available at www.thebasie.org/musiccamp. You can also call at 732-224-8778, ext. 142.

“We are thrilled each summer to partner with the Basie Center to bring this camp to the young people of Monmouth County,” said Anthony Sylvester, trustee, Gia Maione Prima Foundation. “The end-of-camp concert by the students is always a joy.”

“Watching a student pick up, hold and then learn to implement a musical instrument for the first time is nothing short of magical,” said Laura Petillo, manager of music programs at the Count Basie Center Academy of the Arts.