TRAC Creative Music & Jazz Camp

Applications are now being taken for the August 8-17, 2003 TRAC Creative Music and Jazz Camp, a summer residential program for blind and visually impaired teen musicians. The camp, sponsored by University of New Orleans Training, Resource & Assistive-technology Center (TRAC) will give fledgling musicians the opportunity to study, perform, compose and arrange music using a variety of special computer technologies, plus a unique environment to learn about jazz. The camp will also provide a strong focus on leadership skills, independent living skills and an introduction to careers in music.

The camp is open to blind and visually impaired musicians, ages 12-19.  Requirements include at least 2 years of musical training, basic computer literacy, a submitted audition tape and a recommendation from a music instructor. Scholarships are available to all participants and include classes, food, recreational activities and sleeping accommodations in staff-supervised residential rooms at the TRAC facility. Students must supply their own transportation to and from New Orleans.  Positions are limited and students will be chosen based on skills and experience. Applications are due by May 30.

Composer and pianist Henry Butler, who is blind since birth, will serve as Camp Creative Director.  Butler, who performs all over the world, has a successful recording career and has also taught workshops throughout the country including the Memphis State School for the Blind, New Orleans Public Schools, Arizona State School for Blind and Deaf, Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired, California State School for the Blind, Chicago Lighthouse for the Blind and many others.

The camp faculty will include well-known sighted and visually impaired musicians, a physical movement specialist, music business professionals and music technology experts. Classes and recreational activities will also be lead by members of the TRAC staff. 

Since 1986, the University of New Orleans Training, Resource and Assistive-technology Center has offered high tech training, career aptitude assessments, rehabilitation services, employment skills, and small business entrepreneurship programs to persons with a wide-range of disabilities.  The Center facility is an architectural-award-winning, disability-accessible building that includes computer labs, testing facilities, conference rooms and residential rooms for clients. The Center’s mission is to improve the quality of life for individuals with disabilities through training and a significant core of special services such as the music camp.

The TRAC Creative Music and Jazz Camp has been established because musicians with visual impairments need a different approach to musical learning. The camp includes a program designed to benefit participants on many levels.  Their musical growth will be complemented by an equal emphasis on physical and social development.  The curriculum will also include components to improve Braille and computer skills that will enhance all academic endeavors.

For information on the camp and registration forms visit www.unotrac.org or contact Rose Angelocci, 504-280-5705, e-mail: rangeloc@uno.edu or Denise Jett, 504-280-5708, e-mail: djett1@uno.edu.

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For additional information contact Harriett Davis Cortez, TRAC Community Outreach & Development Specialist, 504-280-5715, e-mail: hcortez@uno.edu.