News From Romania

Every once in a while, news appears to remind us of the extent to which jazz has become an international art form and field of study. For example:

The third annual Romanian Jazz Education Summit will begin July 5, and last until July 10, 2008. All jazz music educators and most Romanian jazz students will attend. As always, the purpose of this summit is to provide intensive/detailed instruction of American jazz education techniques for Romanian educators and students through the assistance of dedicated mostly American jazz educators. The approximately 100 educators and selected performers will meet in the rustic Carpathian village of Jupinesti, away from the numerous distractions of cities like Bucharest.

The Romanian venture has come about largely through the efforts of an American musician and professor named Tom Smith, with a boost from the US embassy and the Fulbright Commission. Perhaps our government has not abandoned cultural diplomacy, after all. To read more, click here.