JMArts receives Chatham Arts Council grant to develop the foundation for future success

SILER CITY, N.C. — Not long ago, after celebrating a successful first decade serving Jordan-Matthews High School artists and the broader community, JMArts was poised to launch a campaign to recruit new volunteers that could sustain the high school arts foundation for years to come.

The future seemed bright at that moment, the beginning of the 2020 spring semester, and then everything stopped.

The COVID-19 pandemic killed that project and made life even more difficult for nonprofits worldwide. Volunteers disappeared. Many contributors did, too. Audiences evaporated; even after live performances returned with stringent safety guidelines, many people were worried about their health and no longer in the habit of attending in-person events.

All of a sudden, JMArts was scrambling to provide creative opportunities for student artists to develop their talents and keep moving forward. The future that once seemed so bright was in real jeopardy.

JMArts has just received some much-needed help in the form of a Chatham Arts Council Capacity Building Subgrant, a $5,000 award to help the nonprofit foundation strengthen itself for a sustained, promising future. The official purpose of the grant: to “review, revise and add to the structural framework of JMArts — including by-laws, board makeup, volunteer recruitment and strategic plan.”

“The bottom line is that we now have some money that will help us find and welcome the volunteers we hoped to draw into the foundation just before the pandemic hit,” said JMArts President Rose Pate. “It also will allow us to seek long-term funding and develop new tools that should strengthen JMArts for many years to come. I’m excited to have the chance to work on behind-the-scenes projects that will make JMArts function better in the long term, especially our outreach to parents and other volunteers.”

Chatham Arts Council and JMArts have worked together over many years to provide opportunity for students.

Last winter, JMArts produced a Latin jazz clinic for high school and some middle school musicians. Gregg Gelb and La Fiesta Latin Jazz Sextet taught Latin jazz technique and performed a demonstration before returning later for a free public performance. And the spring before, in one of the first in-person workshops after pandemic lockdowns, JMArts produced an after-school theater dance workshop open to all students and led by Temple Theatre Producing Artistic Director Peggy Taphorn, a Broadway actor and choreographer.

And later this spring, Jordan-Matthews visual artists and students studying occupational and basic life skills will participate in “Gourd-geous Art Day: Art Meets Nature,” a day-long workshop where artists Martha Danek and Cara Bevan will show students how to incorporate natural materials into works of art.

All three events were offered with Chatham Arts Council through Grassroots Arts Grants supported by the N.C. Arts Council, a division of the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources, with funding from the National Endowment for the Arts.

“The Grassroots Grants offered by the Chatham Arts Council have been key in helping bring arts opportunities and expertise to students at Jordan-Matthews,” said Pate. “We’re excited to continue our relationship with this vital community organization as we learn how better to serve students and families in Siler City.”

More information about JMArts, including a schedule of all upcoming arts events and information on membership, is available online at JMArts.org.

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Percussionists Beverly Botsford, left, and Ramon Ortiz of La Fiesta Latin Jazz Sextet taught student drummers Latin jazz technique during last year’s workshop offered in partnership with Chatham Arts Council. (Photo by Chip Pate)

Peggy Taphorn, a Broadway performer and producing artistic director for Temple Theatre in Sanford, leads an after-school theater dance workshop for Jordan-Matthews High School students. This workshop offered in partnership with Chatham Arts Council was one of the first in-person events in 2021 after pandemic lockdowns. (Photo by Chip Pate)

The $5,000 capacity-building grant to help JMArts develop and strengthen the foundation for future success was awarded by Chatham Arts Council.

Fifth-annual Sing and Play student music competition set for February

SILER CITY, N.C. — Sing and Play ’23, the fifth-annual music competition for students from elementary through high school, returns next month with auditions and its popular showcase concert at Jordan-Matthews High School in Siler City.

Instrumental and vocal acts will compete for a $50 prize awarded for the best performance in each of three age categories — elementary, middle school and high school. Acts may be individuals or ensembles up to four people, with all performers being full-time students in a North Carolina public, private or home school.

Auditions will be held by appointment in the Jordan-Matthews Auditorium on Tuesday, Feb. 7, from 3:45 to 5:45 p.m., when a panel of judges will select four to six acts in each age category to perform in the showcase competition. Auditions are held with an educational focus, providing an opportunity for young, aspiring performers to experience the audition process in a supportive environment. Individuals and ensembles planning to audition must register online by 11:59 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 31.

The Sing and Play Showcase competition concert will be Thursday, Feb. 23, at 6:30 p.m. Immediately following all performances, winners in each age category will be selected by audience vote. General admission is $5 per person and includes one vote in each category.

Last year’s winners were Jojo Chen of Woods Charter School in the elementary division, Zachary Klingel of Margaret B. Pollard in the middle school division and the duet of Buck and Maggie Thornton of Jordan-Matthews in the high school division. Sing and Play ’22 was hosted by JM actor-musicians Wilson Ramos Meza and Litzy Garcia.

An overview of the competition — including rules and a link to the registration form — is available online at jmarts.org/s/JMASingAndPlayRules2023.pdf.

Sing and Play is a fundraiser for JMArts, the Jordan-Matthews Arts Foundation, a nonprofit created to provide what student artists need to excel.

Money raised by the competition will be used by JMArts for educational projects, including its annual New York Arts Adventure. Scheduled over spring break, the educational trip to New York City gives a group of upperclass musicians, actors and visual artists an opportunity to explore one of the world’s great cities, experience the very best in their arts and gain new perspectives and experiences that will influence their lives and work. Several world-class actors, musicians and critics meet with JM artists during the five-day adventure.  

More information about JMArts and other events scheduled for this season is available at jmarts.org.

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Winners of “Sing and Play ’22” with the show’s co-hosts were, from left, co-host Wilson Ramos Meza, Jojo Chen of Woods Charter School, Zachary Klingel of Margaret B. Pollard Middle School, Buck and Maggie Thornton of Jordan-Matthews High School and co-host Litzy Garcia. (Photo by Chip Pate)

Buck and Maggie Thornton of Jordan-Matthews took the prize in the high school competition at “Sing and Play ’22” for their vocal duet with guitar of “April Come She Will.” (Photo by Chip Pate)

Zachary Klingel of Margaret B. Pollard topped an exceptionally strong middle school competition at “Sing and Play ’22” with his vocal and guitar performance of “Old Church Choir.” (Photo by Chip Pate)

Audience members at “Sing and Play ’22” voted Jojo Chen of Woods Charter School as best performance in the elementary division for her vocal rendition of “Lost Boy.” (Photo by Chip Pate)

JM Celebrates the Season With Two Free Concerts

SILER CITY, N.C. — Student musicians ring in the holiday season at Jordan-Matthews High School next week with two free public concerts featuring instrumental and choral music.

“Holiday Band Concert: A Celebration of the Season” is headlined by the JM Concert Band directed by teacher JC Harper. The band plans to perform Themes from the Nutcracker Suite, Christmas Concerto, Selections from Tim Burton’s “The Nightmare Before Christmas” and Sleigh Ride. The evening also includes two numbers by the JM Guitar Ensemble and a violin performance by sophomore Quinn Woolford. The band concert is Monday, Dec. 12, 7 p.m., in the JM Auditorium.

“Holiday Choral Concert: A Celebration of the Season,” a companion concert later in the week, features two class-based ensembles — The Choral Jets and The Mini Petersons — followed by performances by The Golden Tones a cappella group and a Combined Chorus drawn from the two class-based ensembles. The evening concludes with a longtime JM tradition — “Carol of the Bells” — a Ukrainian carol that carries a particular poignance this year as Ukrainian families defend their nation and culture in an unprovoked war. The choral concert, with all ensembles directed by 2022-23 Chatham County Schools Beginning Teacher of the Year Elliott Peterson, is Wednesday, Dec. 14, 7 p.m., in the JM Auditorium.

Admission to JM’s single holiday concert in previous years was based on a small contribution used to strengthen the local community. Because there will be two concerts this year, admission to each will be free. But JMArts will still accept donations of nonperishable food items for the West Chatham Food Pantry to help families in our community and contributions of any amount to JMArts to continue providing a full range of arts opportunities for students regardless of their family’s financial status.

JMArts President Rose Pate says every donation helps support programs for students, including registration for chorus and band members to participate in the Carowinds Festival of Music this spring. “We are happy to see the full reawakening of all our performance classes this fall,” said Pate. ”There's no better way to celebrate the spirit of the holiday season than with music.”

More information about JMArts, including a schedule of all upcoming arts events and information on membership, is available online at JMArts.org.

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Soloist Courtney Shackelford, right, performs with the Jordan-Matthews Chorus during the 2021 Holiday Concert, one of the early performances after in-person classes resumed during the pandemic. (Photo by Chip Pate)

Clarinetists Tracy Alston, from left, Karsyn Vann and Christian García Torres perform with the Jordan-Matthews Concert Band during last year’s Holiday Concert. (Photo by Chip Pate)