Searches for the Next Louis Armstrong on May 15!

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contact:
Amy A. Kirk Duvoisin
Director of Marketing
(504) 522-2621 ext. 205 office
akirk@frenchmarket.org

SEARCHES FOR THE NEXT LOUIS ARMSTRONG on May 15^th!!
WINNERS RECEIVE TRAVEL, PERFORMANCES, & ENGRAVED B&S TRUMPET
Local musicians Delfeayo Marsalis and Wendell Brunious will judge students

(New Orleans, LA –April 16, 2011)—The French Market, French Quarter Festivals, Inc., Uptown Jazz Orchestra, The New Orleans Jazz National Historical Park, The Louisiana Weekly, McDonough 15 School for the Creative Arts, B&S Company, and an extraordinary contingency of German sponsors organized by New Orleans supporter, ambassador and German musician/festival organizer Thomas Gerdiken are joining forces to encourage local trumpet players to audition to be “the next Louis Armstrong”.

This is the second year of the “Seeking Satch” contest, culminating with a public performance of all final contestants at the Satchmo SummerFest grand finale “Trumpet Tribute” at the Red Beans and Rice Stage on August 7, 2011. Auditions will be held at the New Orleans Jazz National Historical Park on Sunday May 15^th from 2:00-5:00 p.m. The contest is free and open to New Orleans students in grades 8-12^th grade who can bring their own instrument to the 20 minute audition and:

• Play any 2 Major scales; perform a musical selection of their choosing; sight-read a piece of the judges’ choosing; and perform one song of their choice (made famous) by Louis Armstrong.
  
  

  Applicants must register for the audition by May 6, 2011 at 5:00 p.m. To receive an application, email akirk@frenchmarket.org. Applications may be emailed, faxed, or dropped off in person upon completion.

  The competition continues to evolve with prizes that offer young trumpeters a chance to strut their stuff on various stages locally and internationally. Last year’s contest winner, Terry Gibson Jr., New Orleans trumpeter and high school senior at Warren Easton High School, won grand prize for his highly spirited rendition of “St. James Infirmary”. As a result, Gibson won a trip to Bonn, Germany, as a featured performer at the “Keep New Orleans Music Alive” benefit concert in the Bundeskunsthalle, the official museum of the Federal Republic of Germany.

  This year’s contest winner will also win a fully paid trip to Berlin, Germany, in October, that includes a special public performance with a twelve piece international band for the festival JAZZ IN THE GARDENS OF THE MINISTRIES. While in Germany, the first place winner will also be gifted with a personally engraved B&S trumpet at the B&S factory, valued at $3,000. A personal sightseeing trip through Germany will be organized, including visits to Brandenburg Gate, Autostadt Volkswagon, and a V.I.P. tour of the German Parliament Reichtagsgebäude.

  Both first and second prize winners will be awarded with two locally paid music gigs in 2011: one at the New Orleans Jazz National Historical Park in the French Market, and one with Uptown Jazz Orchestra, directed by Delfeayo Marsalis.

  “Offering serious young trumpeters a chance to perform onstage locally and internationally benefits everyone. We owe it to our young musicians, to the legacy of Louis Armstrong and his native city New Orleans, to support the next generation of New Orleans musicians,” says contest Chairman Delfeayo Marsalis, director of the Uptown Jazz Orchestra and Uptown Musical Theatre in New Orleans, and an educator, trombonist, composer, producer and 2011 NEA Jazz Masters Award recipient.

  Judges for 2011 include contest chairman Delfeayo Marsalis; legendary local trumpeter Wendell Brunious, and German musician and contest donor Thomas Gerdiken, aka “The Prince of New Orleans Piano”. Contest committee members include McDonough 15 Band Director Kelvin Harrison, Greg Schatz, Music Director for French Quarter Festivals, Inc., and Joe Llewellyn, Assistant Superintendent New Orleans Jazz National Historical Park.