La reVista: Story on the Alamo Jazz Allstars Mentorship Program

Students Get Pointers from Jazz VIPs

The next great jazz musician may soon emerge from the Alamo Colleges thanks to a student jazz group that was formed last year at Northwest Vista College and has received mentoring from some of the best jazz musicians in the business.

The Alamo Allstars, created by NVC associate professor of Music Katharine “Katchie” Cartwright, is a student mentorship program for Alamo Colleges students to receive training, mentorship and a chance to travel abroad to learn from international jazz musicians.

To join the group of five, students have to audition and then one student is chosen to attend the International Association of Schools of Jazz (IASJ) conference hosted in different cities. Only about 50 students are selected internationally to participate in the conference. This year, NVC student Stephen Bennett will be traveling to Austria to be a part of the event.

Last year, then NVC student Jeané Gaines traveled to Brazil to participate in the conference. She said words can’t express all that she experienced on the trip. Read more >>