1-year Internship: Saint Peter's
Donation protected
So let's get caught up! Here's what I've been up to:
I recently completed my first podcast! It will be made public soon, focusing on the musician's mindset and the perspectives and concepts that contribute to successful careers and relationships in music. The central question of the podcast asks "What goes into music making besides making music?" My first interview was with Jeff Campbell , chair of the Jazz and Contemporary Media Deptartment at Eastman.
I've just returned from three weeks on Mackinac Island, MI performing with Alex Graham and the Grand Hotel Orchestra, and I'm in Rochester for most of the summer performing, as well as teaching at the Creative Strings Workshop and the Rochester Bass Retreat.
...and the big news: I've just graduated from Eastman School of Music with my Master's diploma and Arts Leadership Program Certificate, and was honored to receive both the Ray Wright Award and the Arts Leadership Program Post-Graduate Internship Award! I'm moving to NYC!
This is why I've set this up -
My aim with this GoFundMe campaign is to allow you all to contribute to the work that I'll be doing and to track the progress along the way. Your contributions here will allow me to more fully focus my time and energy on this extraordinary internship opportunity. Furthermore, by using GoFundMe I will be able to keep you all informed of what is happening along the way. Many of you already receive my newsletter where I share short stories and photos from the places I go and the people I meet along the way. If you would like to also receive my occasional Forfia Music News emails, you can sign up at my website.
I'll be working as the Programming and Media Production Assistant at Saint Peter's "Jazz" Church:
The mission of Saint Peter’s Church is simple: to creatively shape life in New York City. Among the global jazz community it is known as the “The First Church of Jazz.” The church has worked with jazz artists in NYC since 1965, hosting weekly jazz vespers services, educational outreach, free concerts, and memorial services for jazz musicians such as John Coltrane, Miles Davis, and Thelonius Monk. Saint Peter’s has also been instrumental in social change. In the 1980’s the church founded the Momentum Project to provide home-cooked meals to people living with HIV/AIDS. They have played an active role in improving the lives of immigrants, women, and people struggling with homelessness and hunger. You can learn all about their programs and initiatives on their website at http://saintpeters.org
As a post-graduate intern through Eastman’s Arts Leadership Program, I will work with Ike Sturm to advance the local and global outreach efforts at Saint Peter’s Church through producing audio/visual media and providing programming support in the jazz ministry. I will also perform at the church when opportunities arise, and will have space at the church to conduct rehearsals and informal jam sessions as I get to know more of the incredible musicians in NYC.
We will coordinate music schedules and conduct interviews with artists and community leaders for use in both weekly jazz programming and larger initiatives including the weekly jazz vespers service, Jazz on the Plaza, Midday Jazz at Midtown, The Duke Ellington Society, International Women in Jazz, and partnerships with Chamber Music America and the Jazz Foundation of America.
The artistic and social stimulus of New York City has a storied history for the jazz idiom and progressive movements. For over half a century Saint Peter’s has been on the forefront of both. On a personal level, creating media for humanitarian efforts will unquestionably influence the trajectory of my career towards my goal of social change. With our aligned vision, and by utilizing the infrastructure in place at Saint Peter’s church, our collaboration has the potential to make an unprecedented social impact.
It starts this August, and I'm taking several steps to prepare for the move:
I'm in the process of apartment hunting, and will begin moving at the end of July. I'm headed to NYC from June 18-22 to get to know the rest of the leadership staff at the church.
I've been reconnecting with many friends and colleagues I've met along the way - friends from cruise ship work, the Grand Hotel, the Glenn Miller Orchestra, from Ohio, Michigan, and Rochester, NY.
I've been reaching out to friends-of-friends, and to alumni from Firestone High School, the University of Akron, and Eastman School of Music who have relocated to the greater NYC area.
And I've been putting aside money to help support myself.
I'm fortunate to have always been active as a performing artist, and to be compensated for it. Now more than ever I am committing to other forms of funding as well. Over the last two years I have had incredible support as I formed a more firm foundation of who I am and what I aim to do. Though I am a performer at heart, I recognize the ways that my performance career has allowed me to experience diverse perspectives of the world, and I am committing both my performance career and my other skills towards amplifying a perspective of the world founded in empathy, integrity, and optimism. It is for these reasons that I am pursuing parallel opportunities to performance such as education, community outreach, this internship, and my podcast, as well as seeking funding to be able to support these initiatives.
These projects have thus far been supported by a variety of work that I am involved in, and now I am also delving into the realm of public support. Currently, this includes:
Institutional funding: I sought and was awarded a $10,000 grant to support my project at the church. You can read about it online at the Arts Leadership Program announcement.
Grant Support: My summer hours are focused on identifying grants that support similar initiatives in community engagement, jazz music, and mental health initiatives.
YOUR financial support, my friends and family: This is my first time reaching out for financial support, and as I've contemplated this form of funding, I have been extremely grateful for the encouragement that I've received. It is so wonderful to know that you all are so supportive of these projects.
An Akron-NYC Sendoff Fundraiser: July 12, at Blu+ Jazz Club in Akron, Ohio, I am inviting my hometown friends and family to join me and some of my closest friends and collaborators in a sendoff concert fundraiser. We will play great music, and you can come hang, eat, drink, and get to know each other.
This support will help me to focus my energy on the work that will have the greatest impact on myself and others.
It will help to pay for rent, food, travel expenses, and much more. More importantly, it will allow me to be judicious with the work I take on as a performer in order to ensure that the work is genuine and so that I can fully invest my time and energy.
Thank you so much for your support, and thank you for reading all of this! If you would also like to read my personal statement and project proposal, you can find it through this link. Please also contact me any time with additional thoughts and comments. I would love to hear from you!
I recently completed my first podcast! It will be made public soon, focusing on the musician's mindset and the perspectives and concepts that contribute to successful careers and relationships in music. The central question of the podcast asks "What goes into music making besides making music?" My first interview was with Jeff Campbell , chair of the Jazz and Contemporary Media Deptartment at Eastman.
I've just returned from three weeks on Mackinac Island, MI performing with Alex Graham and the Grand Hotel Orchestra, and I'm in Rochester for most of the summer performing, as well as teaching at the Creative Strings Workshop and the Rochester Bass Retreat.
...and the big news: I've just graduated from Eastman School of Music with my Master's diploma and Arts Leadership Program Certificate, and was honored to receive both the Ray Wright Award and the Arts Leadership Program Post-Graduate Internship Award! I'm moving to NYC!
This is why I've set this up -
My aim with this GoFundMe campaign is to allow you all to contribute to the work that I'll be doing and to track the progress along the way. Your contributions here will allow me to more fully focus my time and energy on this extraordinary internship opportunity. Furthermore, by using GoFundMe I will be able to keep you all informed of what is happening along the way. Many of you already receive my newsletter where I share short stories and photos from the places I go and the people I meet along the way. If you would like to also receive my occasional Forfia Music News emails, you can sign up at my website.
I'll be working as the Programming and Media Production Assistant at Saint Peter's "Jazz" Church:
The mission of Saint Peter’s Church is simple: to creatively shape life in New York City. Among the global jazz community it is known as the “The First Church of Jazz.” The church has worked with jazz artists in NYC since 1965, hosting weekly jazz vespers services, educational outreach, free concerts, and memorial services for jazz musicians such as John Coltrane, Miles Davis, and Thelonius Monk. Saint Peter’s has also been instrumental in social change. In the 1980’s the church founded the Momentum Project to provide home-cooked meals to people living with HIV/AIDS. They have played an active role in improving the lives of immigrants, women, and people struggling with homelessness and hunger. You can learn all about their programs and initiatives on their website at http://saintpeters.org
As a post-graduate intern through Eastman’s Arts Leadership Program, I will work with Ike Sturm to advance the local and global outreach efforts at Saint Peter’s Church through producing audio/visual media and providing programming support in the jazz ministry. I will also perform at the church when opportunities arise, and will have space at the church to conduct rehearsals and informal jam sessions as I get to know more of the incredible musicians in NYC.
We will coordinate music schedules and conduct interviews with artists and community leaders for use in both weekly jazz programming and larger initiatives including the weekly jazz vespers service, Jazz on the Plaza, Midday Jazz at Midtown, The Duke Ellington Society, International Women in Jazz, and partnerships with Chamber Music America and the Jazz Foundation of America.
The artistic and social stimulus of New York City has a storied history for the jazz idiom and progressive movements. For over half a century Saint Peter’s has been on the forefront of both. On a personal level, creating media for humanitarian efforts will unquestionably influence the trajectory of my career towards my goal of social change. With our aligned vision, and by utilizing the infrastructure in place at Saint Peter’s church, our collaboration has the potential to make an unprecedented social impact.
It starts this August, and I'm taking several steps to prepare for the move:
I'm in the process of apartment hunting, and will begin moving at the end of July. I'm headed to NYC from June 18-22 to get to know the rest of the leadership staff at the church.
I've been reconnecting with many friends and colleagues I've met along the way - friends from cruise ship work, the Grand Hotel, the Glenn Miller Orchestra, from Ohio, Michigan, and Rochester, NY.
I've been reaching out to friends-of-friends, and to alumni from Firestone High School, the University of Akron, and Eastman School of Music who have relocated to the greater NYC area.
And I've been putting aside money to help support myself.
I'm fortunate to have always been active as a performing artist, and to be compensated for it. Now more than ever I am committing to other forms of funding as well. Over the last two years I have had incredible support as I formed a more firm foundation of who I am and what I aim to do. Though I am a performer at heart, I recognize the ways that my performance career has allowed me to experience diverse perspectives of the world, and I am committing both my performance career and my other skills towards amplifying a perspective of the world founded in empathy, integrity, and optimism. It is for these reasons that I am pursuing parallel opportunities to performance such as education, community outreach, this internship, and my podcast, as well as seeking funding to be able to support these initiatives.
These projects have thus far been supported by a variety of work that I am involved in, and now I am also delving into the realm of public support. Currently, this includes:
Institutional funding: I sought and was awarded a $10,000 grant to support my project at the church. You can read about it online at the Arts Leadership Program announcement.
Grant Support: My summer hours are focused on identifying grants that support similar initiatives in community engagement, jazz music, and mental health initiatives.
YOUR financial support, my friends and family: This is my first time reaching out for financial support, and as I've contemplated this form of funding, I have been extremely grateful for the encouragement that I've received. It is so wonderful to know that you all are so supportive of these projects.
An Akron-NYC Sendoff Fundraiser: July 12, at Blu+ Jazz Club in Akron, Ohio, I am inviting my hometown friends and family to join me and some of my closest friends and collaborators in a sendoff concert fundraiser. We will play great music, and you can come hang, eat, drink, and get to know each other.
This support will help me to focus my energy on the work that will have the greatest impact on myself and others.
It will help to pay for rent, food, travel expenses, and much more. More importantly, it will allow me to be judicious with the work I take on as a performer in order to ensure that the work is genuine and so that I can fully invest my time and energy.
Thank you so much for your support, and thank you for reading all of this! If you would also like to read my personal statement and project proposal, you can find it through this link. Please also contact me any time with additional thoughts and comments. I would love to hear from you!
Organizer
Mike Forfia
Organizer
Rochester, NY