Talent and dedication can take you far, but for young performers working to hone their craft, quality instruction from master teachers can expand their view of what’s possible, opening new avenues of artistic expression. To bring that alchemy to local students, the Peace Center has partnered with the Fine Arts Center to offer an artist-in-residence program since 2021. In weeklong residencies, students are mentored by world-class artists in dance, jazz and classical music.
The program promotes confidence and achievement in the students and supports the Peace Center’s mission to educate and inspire through the arts.
“We want to make an investment in the instruction they are receiving,” says George Davis, director of community engagement for the Peace Center.
Davis recalls hearing Ava Ramsey, a senior in the FAC’s jazz and vocal programs, before and after an October 2022 residency with classical vocal coaches Danielle Talamantes and Kerry Wilkerson.
“I was impressed by how much she had developed, even in the jazz space, only from having had that opportunity,” he says. “Her voice crosses genres really well.”
Ramsey also participated in a jazz residency in October with internationally renowned guitarists and recording artists Mike and Leni Stern. Ramsey, who for years had been a fan of Mike Stern’s work, said the best thing she and her fellow students took away from both experiences was hope, along with a better understanding of the industry and what their careers might look like after graduation.
“When you have professionals come to teach it can be intimidating, but they were so welcoming and down to earth and made you feel like a peer rather than a student,” she says. “They encouraged you to trust yourself, be in the moment and try not to focus on mistakes.”
Davis says the residency program was inspired by another FAC partnership, the Jazz All Stars concert series, which presents student performances quarterly in Genevieve’s restaurant on the Peace Center campus. Now in its fifth year, the collaboration provides a career-building opportunity for student musicians who are paid for their work. Upcoming performances for this school year will be on Feb. 15 and April 26.
Kelly Byers, director of development for the Peace Center, says community engagement initiatives like these aim to create a more inclusive Peace Center and expand access to the creative arts.
“Partnerships like this amplify what other arts organizations are doing to help them achieve their missions,” Byers says. “In the past, we had done masterclasses or workshops with artists who were performing here. This is unique in that these professionals weren’t on our schedule. The FAC has control over scheduling; we’re using our network and resources to make it happen.”
The Community Foundation of Greenville has committed $50,000 from the Forrest A. and Maryann C. Abbott Endowment to support this program with $10,000 annually over five years. Maryann Abbott, who passed away in April 2021, had given to the Community Foundation’s Annual Campaign every year since 1991 and served on the Community Foundation board. She named CFG as a beneficiary of her Charitable Remainder Trust.
“Forrest and Maryann Abbott were consistent annual campaign donors for decades, and they used their Donor Advised Fund to support a wide variety of nonprofits,” says Bob Morris, CFG president. “While I was not surprised to receive an unrestricted gift from their estate, it was quite gratifying. We chose to create an endowment fund and to make the first commitment to help underwrite the artists-in-residence program for Fine Arts Center students at the Peace Center. It seems to be the perfect way to combine their love of the Peace Center and Maryann’s interests. She was a cheerful giver and I miss her.”
For more information on the Peace Center’s Community Engagement initiatives, please visit peacecenter.org/about-us/
