Danilo Perez UNESCO Artist For Peace 2016 Annual Report
Introduction:
2016 was a productive year to promote sustainable development through music. Starting in January with the production of the Panama Jazz Festival, following with the celebration of International Jazz Day April 30th, and the many other activities organized all over the world to raise awareness, inspire and make a positive change through music, I hope to serve as an instrument for change.
Danilo Peez
Cultural Ambassador, Republic of Panama UNESCO Artists For Peace www.daniloperez.com
Report written on February 10th 2017 by Patricia Perez Quincy, Massachusetts, USA January 2016
January 11-16, 2016 Panama Jazz Festival 2016 www.panamajazzfestival.com
The mission of the Panama Jazz Festival is to offer opportunities for human development in a performance space that educate and serve people of all ages, ethnic groups and economic backgrounds. The festival organize an international community that uses music as a tool for positive social change. In January of every year a space that used to be a US military base (now called the City of Knowledge) is transformed by music. In 2016 over 28,000 people, general public, students and professional musicians from all over the world gathered to celebrate Jazz Music. Over 1,000 national and international scholarships were announced.
2016 Results: 1. Over 28,000 people attending all events during the week of the festival! 2. Over 1,000 national scholarships for music students to attend the festival! 3. Over 10 international scholarships announced! 4. 2 college credits given by Berklee College of Music (Boston, MA)! 5. Over 70 classes about all aspects of music and over $80,000 in music education! 6. The IV Latin American Music Therapy Symposium presented the therapeutics aspects of music
* See complete report attached or the following link: * https://app.box.com/s/m6c7b92lxm0ogkqqm5go7409u4tzj0lt
For Panama Jazz Festival Educational Events Report see attached document or this link: https://app.box.com/s/p51gv0o87kml5j7eao80kvl2jdiyc3ew February 2016
In an attempt to bridge social development and music education, Danilo Perez founded the Berklee Global Jazz Institute in 2009. He starts his residency in February https:// www.berklee.edu/focused/global-jazz
To bring social change through music, Danilo Perez Founded the Danilo Perez Foundation in 2005. Programs start in February. www.fundaciondaniloperez.org See 2016 Full report attached or this link https://app.box.com/s/alrtc9z2rnj119997hy4th6fdtm2kgvf
March 2016
Berklee Global Jazz Institute Summit “Exploring Improvisation and Humanity” https://www.berklee.edu/news/seventh-annual-berklee-global-jazz-institute-summit- explores-improvisation-and-humanity-march https://www.berklee.edu/news/slideshow-berklee-global-jazz-summit
April 2016
Danilo Perez celebrates International Jazz Day at the White House: http://jazzday.com/ concert/ May 2016 In 2009, Danilo Perez created the “Danilo Perez Workshop” at Berklee Global Jazz Institute. The workshop was named one of the 10 most creative classes in the US by the New York Times in 2015. In this class Danilo shows how the study of music helps us grow as individuals and as a community by practicing creativity and fostering cultural understanding. https://www.berklee.edu/events/danilo-perez-workshop-2
Chile Jazz Por La Paz Festival (Jazz Festival for Peace) Fundacion Danilo Perez Ensemble collaborating with Chile Jazz Por La Paz Festival in an effort to use jazz as a tool for cultural exchange. http://www.emol.com/noticias/Espectaculos/2016/05/09/801826/Festival-Chile-Jazz-por- la-Paz-2016.html
June 2016 In order to connect most jazz schools of the world and to spread the importance of building a strong cultural community, the Berklee Global Jazz Institute hosted the International Association of Schools of Jazz Annual Meeting http://www.iasj.com/en/iasj-jazz-meetings/2016-iasj-jazz-meeting
July 2016 Thanks to the Newport Jazz Festival Foundation, the Berklee Global Jazz Institute (BGJI) Master Students provided a week long summer program for high school students at the Newport Jazz Festival. All students received full scholarships and BGJI students were mentored by Danilo and other great teachers in how to spread a message of peace through music education. https://www.berklee.edu/summer/berklee-global-jazz-workshop-newport-jazz-festival https://www.berklee.edu/news/berklee-summer-program-newport-jazz-festival-allows- students-study-masters https://www.berklee.edu/news/students-perform-2016-newport-jazz-festival https://www.berklee.edu/news/high-school-students-learn-masters-newport-jazz- workshops
August 2016 Fundacion Danilo Perez celebrates the 5th Central American Percussion Festival to honor the folkloric percussions of Central America in general and Panama in particular: http://fundaciondaniloperezpanama.org/5-festival-de-percusion-de-centroamerica/
The Center For Music Therapy in Panama (located at the Danilo Perez Foundation) provided music therapy services to over 100 people in need in Panama. http://www.berklee-blogs.com/2016/10/bringing-music-therapy-to-panamanian-children- in-need/
September 2016 Danilo Perez presents the keynote speech for the European Jazz Conference and talks about how to use jazz as a tool for social change https://www.allaboutjazz.com/european-jazz-conference-2016-danilo-perez-by-ian- patterson.php
October 2016 In an effort to educate the public about the unknown social side of some jazz artists, Danilo Perez performs a concert at Lincoln Center celebrating the 100 years of Thelonious Monk, Ella Fitzgerald, Mongo Santamaria and Dizzy Gillespie. He presents Ella Fitzgerald’s song dedicated to Matin Luther King “He Had a Dream” and exposes Dizzy Gillespie’s wish to be remembered as a “humanitarian.” http://www.imnworld.com/artists/detail/331/Jazz-100
The Berklee Global Jazz Institute supports the Eco Latino Festival bringing a group of students to perform, present about the relationship between music and nature, and demonstrate how to make instruments out of recycled trash. https://www.berklee.edu/news/bgji-students-travel-americas-latino-eco-festival-connect- music-nature?ss=203706
The 1st Performance Therapy Symposium is introduced to Berklee College of Music to explore the therapeutic aspects of music, the connection between music and nature, and the interconnectivity of music with all aspects of life. https://www.berklee.edu/events/performance-therapy-symposium
November BGJI performs and provides music workshop to children with special needs at the Dominican Republic Jazz Festival https://www.berklee.edu/news/slideshow-berklee-women-shine-dominican-republic-jazz- festival
December Students from the Berklee Global Jazz Institute provide outreach programs to those places that need it the most. Correctional facilities, orphanages, and this month: Susan Bailis Assisted Living Facility. https://www.berklee.edu/news/berklee-global-jazz-institute-national-outreach-improves- lives-through-music