NEW ORLEANS – The Warren Easton Jazz Band left for Cuba on Friday, May 20, 2016, for a seven-day trip – the first phase in a three-year music and art cultural exchange with students from the Conservatorio Estéban Salas in Santiago, Cuba.
School reps said the trip will underscore the centuries-long link between New Orleans and the small island nation.
On Friday, the Jazz Band left New Orleans by charter bus to the Miami International Airport where they flew to Santiago de Cuba.
Easton and Conservatorio Estéban Salas students have exchanged music and been rehearsing for months as they prepared to study the connections between New Orleans jazz and its Cuban influences. The exchange will also feature donated instrument cases that have been painted by Easton students. These cases will be painted by the Cuban students and brought back to New Orleans when they visit in April 2017, showcasing their art and music collaborations.
“Santiago de Cuba is the New Orleans of Cuba with Carnival, second-line style Conga processions, and is the birthplace of many of Cuba’s most important styles of music,” said Easton Board President David Garland. “As we were looking ahead to our city’s Tricentennial, here is a tremendously creative way for our students to learn about their history as well as inform this community’s vision of the future.”
“Our music students have done an amazing job with traditional New Orleans jazz, and are so excited to expand their knowledge of how that music came to be,” said Easton Band Director Asia Muhaimin. “They have been studying and rehearsing and are prepared to exchange musical styles with their Cuban counterparts to see how the musical cultures influence each other. This initiative will bring together these young people to study the rich histories of each culture.”
The initiative is in collaboration with the CubaNOLA Arts Collective, and will culminate with the city’s Tricentennial celebration in 2018. Partners and sponsors include CubaNOLA Arts Collective, Barry Kern of Kern Studios, The Trombone Shorty Foundation, Life is Good, WWOZ, Cembell Industries, N.O. Music Exchange, Parkway Bakery, and the Mid-City Neighborhood Organization.
Warren Easton, the oldest public high school in the state, is an “A” rated, U.S. Department of Education National Blue Ribbon School. Easton reps said they develop a strong sense of responsibility, respect and courtesy in each student, keeping them engaged with a rigorous and relevant curriculum. Easton boasts strong business, technology, arts and educational opportunities for all of its students. It has achieved a 100% graduation rate for the past five years.
