The Rhode Island Music Education Association (RIMEA) is proud to announce that 11 high school students from Rhode Island have been invited to perform at this year’s world-renowned Newport Jazz Festiva from August 4 – 6 at Fort Adams State Park in Newport.
The 11 students include: Jason Buka on bass, Moses Densley on saxophone and Miles Burke on trombone, all from Barrington High School; Erik Lee on drums from Cranston High School West; Nathaniel Gomes on drums from Cumberland High School; Collin Klampert on guitar from Middletown High School; Brandon Sun on piano from East Greenwich High School; Isaac Stormont on saxophone from Ponaganset High School; Noah Ramm on saxophone from Toll Gate High School; Kazuya Bojarski on trumpet from Moses Brown School; and Quinn Kennedy on trumpet from North Kingstown High School.
The students will perform on all three days of the festival in jazz combos under the direction of the 2023 RIMEA All-State Jazz Ensemble Director Dino Govoni. All students were members of the 2023 RIMEA All-State Jazz Ensemble that performed last March at URI as part of RIMEA’s annual All-State Concert Festival.
These students were sponsored by their schools’ music teachers and were selected based on competitive auditions from throughout Rhode Island that took place last November. They are representative of the level of excellence that Rhode Island’s high school students can achieve when supported by comprehensive quality music programs in their schools.
Special thanks goes out to RIMEA All-State Jazz Managers Barbara Hughes from Barrington High School and Matt Livesey from West Warwick High School for their work in organizing and supporting these students. And a special thanks to the Newport Festival Foundation for their support in making this possible.
The Rhode Island Music Education Association (RIMEA) is the state chapter of NAfME, the National Association for Music Education. RIMEA’s mission is to provide professional development, leadership, and support for the state’s music teachers to promote quality music instruction and experiences for all students in Rhode Island as part of a complete education. NAfME is the largest arts education organization in the country whose mission is to advance music education by promoting the understanding and making of music by all.
For more information about this event, RIMEA, or how to ensure students in all schools have music education opportunities that can lead to this type of honor, please visit www.rimea.org or email RIMEA Advocacy Co-Chair David Neves at dneves@rimea.org.
