Jazz Empowers Clifford Brown Award

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Kevin Hilario

Congratulations to our 2020 Clifford Brown Award Winner:

Kevin Hilario has shown outstanding musicianship and leadership in his band! After graduating from Celia Cruz High School, he plans to study music business in college. “Learning how to play jazz really impacted my life throughout high school, it has given me many major opportunities such as winning this award, traveling to Cuba and creating new relationships with people throughout the way. Without these experiences, I wouldn’t have been to decide on a career path this early in my life. Jazz music has really impacted my sense of leadership and how I treat others. I have so many great memories because of the jazz program at Celia Cruz; my most favorite memory is the announcement that we had won a position in the most competitive jazz competition in New York, Essentially Ellington.”


About The Award

The Jazz Empowers Clifford Brown Award is an annual award given to a student in its programs that has shown outstanding musicianship and leadership. The award is named in honor of the great trumpeter Clifford Brown, who made an immeasurable impact on the jazz scene at a young age before his tragic death in an automobile accident at the age of 25.

The winner of the Jazz Empowers Clifford Brown Award will receive a $500 scholarship that can be used for college, private lessons on their instrument, or tuition for a summer music camp.

Requirements:

  • All applicants must be currently in grades 8-12.

Deadline: Stay tuned for the live application and 2021 deadlines, opening on
October 21st, 2020. If you have any questions about the application process you can contact our Executive Director Andrew Johnston at andrew@jazzempowers.org.

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