The American Music Program (née Pacific Crest Sinfonietta, Cultural Recreation Band) is a youth jazz band in Portland, Oregon founded by jazz trumpeter, composer, and educator

Thara Memory Thara Memory was a trumpeter and educator from Eatonville, Florida. He attended Alabama State University and Marylhurst University. He lived in Portland, Oregon, United States from the 1970s until his death in 2017. His daughter, Tahirah Memory, ...

. This non-profit youth music program mentors primary school students from 7th-12th grade. On May 9, 2015, the group won Jazz at Lincoln Center's

Essentially Ellington Competition The Essentially Ellington High School Jazz Band Competition & Festival is an annual high school jazz festival and competition that takes place every May at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City. The festival is aimed at encouraging young musician ...

, playing Ellington's ''Tattooed Bride'' from memory.

History

Under the direction of Thara Memory, Greg McKelvey, and Ronnye Harrison the Cultural Recreation Band was founded in 1983. This multicultural performing orchestra served inner city youth primarily in Portland, Oregon's

Albina District Albina is a collection of neighborhoods located in the North Portland, Oregon, North and Northeast Portland, Oregon, Northeast sections of Portland, Oregon, United States. For most of the 20th century it was home to the majority of the city’s A ...

. Students in the program competed in state and regional jazz band competitions. Expanding its reach throughout Portland's metropolitan area suburbs, the non-profit 501(c)3 Pacific Crest Sinfonietta was founded by Thara Memory and LeAnn Kritz in 2005. Students in the group came from Beaverton's Arts and Communications Magnet Academy as well as Portland's

Metropolitan Youth Symphony Metropolitan Youth Symphony is a youth orchestra organization in Portland, Oregon, U.S. Founded in 1974 by Lajos Balogh with just a handful of students, it is now one of the largest youth orchestra groups in the country. It has about 500 students ...

. The program has since enrolled middle school and high school students throughout the greater Portland metropolitan area. Changing its name to American Music Program, the band has performed in competitions across the country, including the

Lincoln Center Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (also simply known as Lincoln Center) is a complex of buildings in the Lincoln Square neighborhood on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. It has thirty indoor and outdoor facilities and is host to 5 millio ...

, the Next Generation Jazz Festival in Monterey, the Charles Mingus Festival and Competition, Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival, Swing Central at the

Savannah Music Festival The Savannah Music Festival (SMF) is dedicated to presenting a world-class celebration of the musical arts by creating timeless and adventurous productions that stimulate arts education, foster economic growth, and unite artists and audiences in Sa ...

, and locally at events such as the Mt. Hood Jazz Festival and the PDX Jazz Forward Competition. American Music Program students have performed with musicians such as

Obo Addy Obo Addy (January 15, 1936 – September 13, 2012) was a Ghanaian drummer and dancer who was one of the first native African musicians to bring the fusion of traditional folk music and Western pop music known as ''worldbeat'' to Europe and ...

Bennie Maupin Bennie Maupin (born August 29, 1940) is an American jazz multireedist who performs on various saxophones, flute, and bass clarinet. Maupin was born in Detroit, Michigan, United States. He is known for his participation in Herbie Hancock's Mwandi ...

Chuck Redd Chuck Redd (born September 10, 1958) is an American jazz drummer and vibraphonist. Career Redd began touring and recording when he joined the Charlie Byrd Trio at the age of 21. He also joined The Great Guitars (Barney Kessel, Charlie Byrd, an ...

, Curtis Salgado, Esperanza Spalding, Terell Stafford, and

Randy Weston Randolph Edward "Randy" Weston (April 6, 1926 – September 1, 2018) was an American jazz pianist and composer whose creativity was inspired by his ancestral African connection. Weston's piano style owed much to Duke Ellington and Thelonious M ...

Notable achievements and alumni

Upon high school graduation, AMP alumni have attended colleges such as The Juilliard School,

Berklee College of Music Berklee College of Music is a private music college in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known for the study of jazz and modern American music, it also offers college-level cours ...

Manhattan School of Music The Manhattan School of Music (MSM) is a private music conservatory in New York City. The school offers bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees in the areas of classical and jazz performance and composition, as well as a bachelor's in mu ...

, The New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music, USC Thornton School of Music,

California Institute for the Arts The California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) is a private art university in Santa Clarita, California. It was incorporated in 1961 as the first degree-granting institution of higher learning in the US created specifically for students of bot ...

, Oberlin College Conservatory, among others. Students in the band have been selected for the Jazz Band of America, The Grammy Band, and The Monterey Next Generation Jazz Band. Youth members have received scholarships to attend the Berklee College of Music's summer programming and the Vail Jazz Workshop. Students in the band have participated in the Metropolitan Youth Symphony, Portland Youth Philharmonic, PDX Jazz Project, and Alan Jones Academy of Music. American Music Program Alumni include Esperanza Spalding
Domo Branch
Charlie Brown III, Hailey Niswanger, Aubrey Cleland, and Patrick Lamb.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:American Music Program Pacific Crest Jazz Orchestra American jazz ensembles Musical groups from Portland, Oregon Musical groups established in 2005 2005 establishments in Oregon