GRAMMY Foundation Opens Online Enrollment For Teen, School Programs

Online applications are now being accepted for the GRAMMY Foundation’s 2012 GRAMMY Camp, GRAMMY Camp Jazz Session and GRAMMY Signature Schools programs. The programs are available for high school students and high school music programs as part of the Foundation’s GRAMMY in the Schools initiatives. Best Buy and Converse are key sponsors this year.

The deadline to apply for GRAMMY Camp and GRAMMY Camp-Jazz Session is Oct. 22, 2012. Each of these two programs offer powerful interactive workshops designed to give students a realistic view and experience of careers in the music industry.

Interested students and school programs can apply at www.grammyintheschools.com. According to the President/CEO of the Recording Academy and the GRAMMY Foundation Neil Portnow, these initiatives "are helping to foster the next generation of music makers and cultivate music in their daily lives."

Oct. 22 also serves as the early decision deadline for students who’d like to attend the 8^th annual GRAMMY Camp, which will be held summer 2012. Early decision applicants will receive 10 percent discount off the tuition if selected. The discount applies whether the student is selected as part of the early decision process or drawn from the regular applicant pool. All applicants not selected via the early decision phase will have reconsideration with the final applicant pool.

The final GRAMMY Camp application is March 31, 2012. In past camps, roughly 70 percent of Camp applicants who applied received financial aid assistance.

GRAMMY Camp offers selected high school students an interactive residential summer music experience, which focuses on all aspects of commercial music. It also provides instruction by industry professionals in an immersive creative environment with cutting-edge technology in professional facilities. The program offers seven music career tracks: Audio Engineering; Concert Promotion/Production; Electronic Music Production; Marketing & Management, Music Journalism; Songwriting and a Performance Track for Bass, Drums, Guitar, Keyboard, Vocal, and Winds & Strings. All tracks culminate in media projects, recordings and/or showcase performances. GRAMMY Camp will be held at the University of Southern California Thornton School of Music and other professional venues throughout Los Angeles from July 14 – 23, 2012.

GRAMMY Camp® – Jazz Session
High school (public, private, parochial, home-schooled, etc.) singers and instrumentalists are encouraged to audition for the GRAMMY Camp® – Jazz Session (formerly GRAMMY Jazz Ensembles). Selected participants will receive an all-expenses-paid trip to Los Angeles for the 54th Annual GRAMMY Awards Feb. 3 through Feb. 13, 2012. Students will participate in high-profile GRAMMY Week performances and recording sessions and attend the 54th Annual GRAMMY Awards telecast on Feb. 12, 2012. Musical directors for the GRAMMY Camp® – Jazz Session are Justin DiCioccio (Manhattan School of Music), Dr. Leila Heil (Colorado State University) and Dr. Ron McCurdy (USC Thornton School of Music). Students are also eligible for college scholarships through the college incentive program with more than $2 million available offered by program partners Berklee College of Music, USC Thornton School of Music, the New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music, and Manhattan School of Music. The school of each selected participant will receive a professional cymbal courtesy of Zildjian. The GRAMMY Camp – Jazz Session program receives additional support from the Ella Fitzgerald Charitable Foundation, Zildjian, Capitol Recording Studios (EMI Music), CenterStaging, and Guitar Center Hollywood.

The GRAMMY Foundation's GRAMMY Signature Schools program recognizes top public high schools across the country for outstanding commitment to their music education programs. Each of the GRAMMY Signature Schools will receive a custom award and a monetary grant to benefit its music program. The top programs are designated Gold recipients. The best of the Gold recipients is designated the National GRAMMY Signature School. The Enterprise Award category recognizes efforts made by schools that are economically underserved. The Blue Ribbon Committee, a panel of top music educators and professionals, determines GRAMMY Signature Schools recipients.

The GRAMMY Foundation® was established in 1989 to cultivate the understanding, appreciation and advancement of the contribution of recorded music to American culture — from the artistic and technical legends of the past to the still unimagined musical breakthroughs of future generations of music professionals. The Foundation accomplishes this mission through programs and activities that engage the music industry and cultural community as well as the general public. The Foundation works in partnership year-round with its founder, The Recording Academy®, to bring national attention to important issues such as the value and impact of music and arts education and the urgency of preserving our rich cultural heritage. Campbell's Labels For Education program is proud to be the official education partner of the GRAMMY in the Schools programs. For more information, please visit www.grammyintheschools.com.

The GRAMMY Foundation is also pleased to announce that the GRAMMY Jazz Ensembles recordings can now be purchased on iTunes, Amazon.com and other quality online music outlets. The 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, and 2011 albums are now available for download. These projects were recorded at the world-famous Capitol Recording Studios (EMI Music) in Hollywood, Calif., by GRAMMY-winning engineers Manny Marroquin and Al Schmitt, and mastered by GRAMMY winner Bernie Grundman.

About this column: D. Henson is a Grammy-nominated producer and songwriter who has been active in the music industry for more than 20 years. He has lent his broad range in talents to some of the greats in the business including Philadelphia-natives Patti LaBelle, Will Smith, Jill Scott, Musiq Soulchild, Floetry, Faith Evans, Darius Rucker, etc. He is local to the area and remains in tune with the current climate of the music industry from the unsigned independent artists to those with commercial success.