Jazz for the Duke

By Heather Pollak, Development Manager, The Ellington Fund

Join us in celebrating Edward Kennedy “Duke” Ellington’s 120th birthday on Friday, April 26, 2019, at Jazz City in the Ellington Theatre. Tickets and online sponsorship purchase are still available at www.ellingtonschool.org/jazz-city-2019.

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The VIP pre-reception for sponsors and supporters starts at 6:30 pm, performances by award-winning special guest artists Cyrus Chestnut, Marcus Johnson, and the Duke Ellington School of the Arts Jazz Orchestra will begin at 7:30 pm, and we will close out the evening with an after party and informal jam session featuring Ellington students, alumni, and faculty.

Our host for this event is Sunny Sumter, executive director of the DC Jazz Festival—our newest cultural partner. In addition to announcing this partnership which will support future joint programming for our students and the greater DC community, we are proud to present the inaugural Daryl Libow Social Justice and Davey Yarborough Excellence in Jazz awards during the event.

By naming one of his jazz bands “The Washingtonians,” Duke Ellington made his home part of his persona. His are the qualities we have worked to instill in graduates since the Duke Ellington School of the Arts was founded forty-five years ago.