$10,000 MCDONALD’S OF PATERSON SCHOLARSHIP TO JAZZ HOUSE KiDS’ ALLOWS DISTRICT STUDENTS TO ATTEND PROGRAMS IN MONTCLAIR
In March 2022, McDonald’s Owner/Operator Angela Adderley, presented a $10,000 McDonald’s of Paterson and The Adderley Management Company Inc. Music Scholarship to JAZZ HOUSE KiDS to support six to eight Paterson Public Schools students, ages 12 to 18, to attend JAZZ HOUSE KiDS’ music education programs in Montclair.
“I want to thank Angela Adderley for making this scholarship funding possible and MELISSA WALKER for her dedication to the music education of Paterson Public Schools students,” said Superintendent of Schools Eileen F. Shafer. “After many years of budget cuts to arts education, Paterson Public Schools has depended on partnerships with organizations like JAZZ HOUSE KiDS to help fill the void those budget cuts have left behind. This funding will help some of the district’s motivated students to realize their potential more fully as musicians through JAZZ HOUSE KiDS’ excellent music education programs.”
“It has been an honor to partner with the district to help bring music instruction back into the classroom and put instruments in the hands of young people,” said MELISSA WALKER. “We feel that jazz and jazz education can be a real gateway to happiness and long-term success, and we are enormously grateful to Angela Adderley for the great infusion of support for Paterson public school students to access our after-school and summer programs at the JAZZ HOUSE. When entrepreneurs and strong leaders partner with schools and nonprofits, great things happen in the community.”
“At McDonald’s, we firmly believe in the importance of supporting our communities, and as we reopen the doors of our Market Street location, we’re so pleased to serve our local customers and reconnect with this wonderful community once more,” said McDonald’s Owner/Operator Angela Adderley. “As a McDonald’s owner/operator for nearly 27 years, I am proud to work with organizations like JAZZ HOUSE KiDS that are making a positive difference by providing children in our community with opportunities to further their musical education.”
Among the programs the district’s students will have access to with the help of the funding is the Summer at the JAZZ HOUSE SESSIONS, held from June 6 to July 22 and the two-week intensive Summer at the JAZZ HOUSE WORKSHOP held at Montclair State University in August. The workshop will be led by Artistic Director and seven-time GRAMMY-winning bassist CHRISTIAN MCBRIDE, Walker’s husband, and Summer Workshop Director TED CHUBB. Students receive top-notch instruction to develop key skills, including enhanced knowledge of fundamentals and jazz performance.
In January, JAZZ HOUSE KiDS launched the Music Scholars Program at the Senator Frank Lautenberg School, where 54 middle school students are receiving music instruction twice a week after school. JAZZ HOUSE KiDS has a long history of working with Paterson students, with the Rosa L. Parks School of Fine and Performing Arts jazz band participating in its annual “Inside the Jazz Note” program, where McBride and special guests would conduct an all-day masterclass for high school students and their music teachers in the region.
Adderley’s husband, Nat Adderley, Jr., is a Grammy nominated artist who had worked as musical director for the late Luther Vandross. He is also the nephew of legendary jazz saxophonist Julian Edwin “Cannonball” Adderley.