GREENSBORO, Ga. — Festival Hall, Greensboro’s premier arts venue and cultural center receives $500 community level sponsorship for The Jazz Legacy Project:  Art Blakey, The Father of Modern Jazz Thursday, May 11, 2023 at 7:30 p.m.

Douglas Purnell, Plant Manager from NIBCO presented Festival Hall Director, Nicole Chillemi with a $500 sponsorship check on Tuesday, March 28, for The Jazz Legacy Project: Art Blakey, The Father of Modern Jazz.

“We are thrilled that local businesses care about the arts and Festival Hall,” states director Nicole Chillemi. “We rely on donations, grants and sponsors in addition to our rental income to sustain us and our beautiful facility and provide more accessible arts opportunities for our community.”

Festival Hall recently put a call out to area businesses to become sponsors for The Jazz Legacy Series, currently in its second full year. In 2021, Festival Hall presented The Jazz Legacy Project: The Life and Music of Billie Holiday which received overwhelming positive reviews and calls from patrons for more. In 2022, Festival Hall presented three more shows highlighting jazz icons Cole Porter, John Coltrane, and Billy Strayhorn.

This current year, the series added a fourth show and recently presented the first of the 2023 series with Cannonball Adderley, Preaching the Gospel of Jazz.  Upcoming shows for The Jazz Legacy Project highlight Art Blakey (May 11), Johnny Mercer (Aug. 24), and Thelonious Monk (Oct. 19).

Each program performed by The Jazz Legacy Project is roughly 90 minutes, with the goal of bringing the casual jazz listener inside the minds and music of the most influential and interesting American musicians of all time. The life and music of the artist/composer is entertainingly narrated by the drummer, Mr. Justin Varnes, and seminal jazz pieces are played to illuminate the narration. These are NOT tribute concerts in the sense that the musicians are trying to recreate the original performances, but instead to celebrate the essence and accomplishments of the artist.

Festival Hall would like to thank NIBCO for their support. Also, thank you to past sponsors for the Jazz Legacy Project Series:  Charles Miller and Co., First Presbyterian Church, and Oconee Brewing Company.  Special thanks to Series Sponsor Visit Lake Oconee.  

For more information on how you or your business could sponsor The Jazz Legacy Project Series, please reach out to Nicole Chillemi at nicole@festivalhallga.com or 762-243-8022.  Tickets on sale now for The Jazz Legacy Project:  Art Blakey, The Father of Modern Jazz, May 11, at 7:30.  www.festivalhallga.com for tickets.