What is Jazz Girls Day?
Dr. Colleen Clark's JAZZ GIRLS DAY began in January 2021 at the University of South Carolina. Since then, the program expanded to three Jazz Girls Days in South Carolina, covering not only the Midlands, but also Upstate and the Lowcountry. Due to the success of Jazz Girls Day in South Carolina and Clark’s JGD: Vision 2030, JAZZ GIRLS DAY is now expanding nationwide, with the goal of hosting at least one University of South Carolina Jazz Girls Day in all 50 states by 2030.
JAZZ GIRLS DAY invites and inspires girls for a day filled with learning, playing, and performing. One of the goals of the day is to help girls prepare for their All-State jazz auditions, although this is not a requirement to attend. The idea behind JAZZ GIRLS DAY is not only to welcome girls to start or continue playing jazz but also encourage music educators to encourage girls to play jazz.
Goals
INCREASE South Carolina participation:
- Support of band directors from USC Jazz Studies
- Continue our outreach efforts paired with the USC Jazz Festival (Director Lauren Meccia)
- Continue uplifting our faculty, staff and students (top down)
- More interactive opportunities:
- Jazz Girls Day Theme Song
- Record onto it
- Track with play along space for soloists (coming soon)
OFFER exceptional programming and guest artists:
- GRAMMY winner: Mimi Jones, USC Jazz Festival Guest Artist
- GRAMMY winner: Nicole Zuraitis, featured artist 2024-2025
- Lauren Meccia, Colleen Clark, Aletha Jacobs (faculty)
- Women composers on concerts
- USC Jazz Studies exclusive Partnership with the Marian McPartland Piano Jazz Archive/performing of her original compositions at Jazz Girls Day
Jazz is often pushed to the wayside in the education process! JGD is a fun and interactive way for young educators to find strategies and repertoire to help students comprehend and perform jazz music!
— JGD participant
Jazz Girls Day by the numbers:
- At least 243 participants in 11 Jazz Girls Day events since 2022
- Six Jazz Girls Days in South Carolina since its inception in 2022, affecting at least 97 lives.
- Five Jazz Girls Days outside of South Carolina, affecting at least 156 lives
- Missouri (twice), Connecticut, Ohio, Arizona
Jazz Girls Day on the horizon, 2024-2025:
- Lowcountry, South Carolina
- Oklahoma
- Oregon
- Upstate, South Carolina
- North Carolina
- Florida
- Georgia
- Columbia (USC), South Carolina
You Can Help
Give $20.22 to celebrate the founding year of Jazz Girls Day!
Provide a meal for one student at all three South Carolina Jazz Girls Day events.
Help support the next 100 Jazz Girls Day participants by helping us reach more programs by encouraging band directors to suggest Jazz Girls Day to their students.
Support the purchase of materials (name tags, tee shirts, pencils, stickers) as we continue to grow nationwide!
“Won't you listen to our song and join us and sing along” is the last line of our Jazz Girls Day Theme Song. This level will help us create more musical aspects (YouTube play-a-longs) for JGD participants in South Carolina and all across the country, with the hopes of bringing together all of our Jazz Girls Day participants for an incredible celebration concert in 2030.
“We came to play it” is the first line of our Jazz Girls Day Theme Song. This level will help us in the creation of more musical and interactive activities. It will also help us launch a testimonial booth at our Jazz Girls Day(s) so we can continue to grow the program.
Due to Dr. Clark’s JGD: Vision 2030, JAZZ GIRLS DAY is now expanding nationwide, with the goal of hosting at least one University of South Carolina Jazz Girls Day in all 50 states by 2030. Help us reach this milestone!
This will help provide a guest artist that will not only co-teach Jazz Girls Day, but perform a concert with the host and the JGD ensemble.
This will help provide multiple GRAMMY award winning female led or female ensemble that will not only co-teach Jazz Girls Day with Clark + USC Jazz Studies team members, but perform a concert with the host and the JGD ensemble.
Help support the scholarship funding of a Jazz Girls Day graduate that will continue their jazz studies at USC Jazz Studies
Click to support Jazz Girls Day!
Your support will greatly help raise charitable funds for Jazz Girls Day which helps offsets the following costs:
- Participant tee shirts (free for participants)
- Participant lunch (free for participants and families)
- Materials (certificates, name tags, take-home packets)
- Travel for USC team
- Guest artist attached to the event (before or the night of event)
- Marketing and outreach to reach more band directors and programs to encourage participation