New World School of the Arts music high school student, Andre Perlman, received multiple awards in the 46th Annual Downbeat Student Music Awards this month. Andre, a senior at NWSA whose instrument of choice is the trombone, won in the categories of Jazz Soloist and Small Jazz Combo. He is the only Jazz Soloist to win internationally on all instruments.
Andre, whose first wind instrument of choice was not the trombone, but the trumpet – in addition to the piano, studies jazz at NWSA under music faculty member Jim Gasior. About the student Gasior notes, “He loves classical music and really just about every style under the sun. His breadth of musicianship also comes from a brilliant facility on the piano, and he transfers that harmonic foundation and knowledge from the piano to the trombone.”
Published in the June 2023 issue of DownBeat, the award was shared by Hamilton High School Academy of Music and the Performing Arts, Los Angeles California, and the New World School of the Arts, and recognizes the talent of four jazz soloists.
The DownBeat Student Music Awards are considered the most notable awards in jazz education. Hundreds of musicians, music educators, and music industry professionals received their first international acknowledgment as DownBeat Student Music Award winners.
In addition to this prestigious recognition, Andre has also been selected to be part of an all-star high school jazz quintet to visit Arkansas Public Schools as part the national peer-to-peer education initiative this month. Andre, along with his fellow musicians, were selected nationwide to participate in the Arkansas weeklong tour and hail from the states of Florida, California, New Jersey, and Maryland. Under the leadership of renowned jazz educator Dr. JB Dyas, the quintet will play side-by-side with their Arkansas counterparts, providing tutelage peer-to-peer. This exchange will allow students to teach and learn from one another, following the examples of Herbie Hancock and Miles Davis, Wayne Shorter, and so many other eminent jazz artists over half a century.
Numerous New World School of the Arts jazz students have been recognized for their musicianship on a national scale. NWSA students have also received awards in Essentially Ellington Competition, Young Arts talent search, and many other national honors and invitations. Information about New World School of the Arts music division at 305-237-3622.
A Florida center of excellence in the visual and performing arts, New World School of the Arts is an educational partnership of Miami-Dade County Public Schools, Miami Dade College, and University of Florida. NWSA provides a comprehensive program of artistic, creative, and academic development through a curriculum that reflects our community and the rich multicultural state of Florida. Through our partners NWSA confers the high school diploma, Associate of Arts degree, and Bachelor of Fine Arts and Bachelor of Music degrees in programs accredited by the National Association of Schools of Dance, Music, Theater and Art & Design. NWSA’s rigorous eight-year curriculum and conservatory-style teaching has empowered students in our community and our nation to become leaders in the arts for more three decades.
Information about New World School of the Arts at 305-237-3135 or nwsa.mdc.edu.