Addison Trail provides music students with lessons and clinics through Young People’s Music Initiative Grant

At Addison Trail, there is a legacy and a tradition of excellence in the school’s Music Department.

To help ensure that level of success continues, the school annually receives the Young People’s Music Initiative Grant, which is a $3,000 donation from the JCS Fund of the DuPage Foundation.

This year, Addison Trail used the grant money to provide the following large group lessons and large group clinics, taught by professional musicians.

• Robert Blazek (pictured above) worked with the saxes and clarinets. Blazek is the director and founder of the Youth Jazz Ensemble of DuPage and is a freelance clarinetist and saxophonist.
  
  
• Matt Lee worked with the trumpet players. Lee is a retired professor of trumpet at Elmhurst University, the principal trumpet of the Illinois Philharmonic and trumpet player in the Millar Brass Ensemble and the Chicago Brass Quintet.
  
  
• Carlyn Lloyd worked with the flutists. Lloyd is a freelance flutist and the founder of Tri-L-Co Music and has performed with the International Opera Theater of Philadelphia.
  
  
• Theresa Goh worked with the orchestra students. Goh has enjoyed a diverse career as a performing violist, educator and arts administrator in the Chicago area for the past 10 years. In addition to directing the String Ensemble at Carmel Catholic High School, Goh maintains a private studio of violin and viola students aged 9 to 18 and performs in regional orchestras such as the Rockford Symphony Orchestra.

• TJ Thompson (pictured above) worked with the drummers. Thompson is a freelance drummer and a recent graduate of Elmhurst University.

• John Rarick (pictured above) worked with the Jazz Ensemble and performed during Addison Trail’s spring concert on April 27. Rarick is the director of the Jazz Lab Band at Elmhurst University and teaches jazz composition and arranging.
  
  
• Ethan Jankowski is a composer and is finishing his degree in composition at Elmhurst University. Jankowski worked with the orchestra students to prepare and conduct the premiere of his composition “Japan and the Old Man” on May 4.

• Alex Shapiro (pictured above) is a composer living on the West Coast, who specializes in compositions for traditional ensembles with prerecorded soundscapes. The Wind Ensemble performed her multimedia piece during the Addison Trail/Indian Trail Band Concert on March 15. The Wind Ensemble also participated in a clinic with Shapiro via Zoom, where they performed the piece and discussed the compositional process.

About the JCS Fund
The JCS Fund of the DuPage Foundation supports the arts, particularly music and visual art programs. The Fund also supports programs that address health-related issues. The Fund has a particular emphasis on programs that provide long-term benefits to residents of DuPage County.

About the DuPage Foundation
The DuPage Foundation is DuPage County’s philanthropic leader. Established in 1986 to raise the quality of life throughout DuPage County, the Foundation helps area residents and organizations realize their unique charitable goals, provides impactful support to the community’s not-for-profits and fosters key partnerships to address critical issues affecting DuPage County.

As a 501(c)(3) public charity, the Foundation receives contributions and bequests from individuals, corporations, organizations and foundations looking to make a difference for the community and the causes about which they are most passionate. For more information about the Foundation, go to www.dupagefoundation.org.