SAINT LOUIS, MO. - Principia School invites middle schoolers and jazz enthusiasts across the Greater St. Louis region to enjoy a jazz clinic and concert at their first annual Principia Middle School Jazz Honors Festival.

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On Saturday, Jan. 25, 2025, middle school jazz musicians from schools across the region can attend a jazz clinic from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Principia School, located at 13201 Clayton Road, St. Louis, Missouri. Emanuel Harrold, a two-time Grammy Award winner and St. Louis-based musician, will lead the clinic. The day concludes with a free concert, open to the public, at 5 p.m. in Ridgway Auditorium.

“We want to be a great musical neighbor,” said Keith Evans, percussion instructor. “Come be a part of this. Here's what we have going on on our campus. We’d like this family to grow. Music is the only language that is universal.”

The middle school jazz clinic costs $35 and includes lunch and snacks. Evans said students will rehearse and have a “jam session” with Harrold before opening for his band at the 5 p.m. concert.

Students from St. Joseph’s Academy, Fort Zumwalt, Francis Howell, the Parkways, St. Gabriel, Clayton, Ladue, Lindbergh and Webster Groves will be in attendance. Middle school directors are encouraged to contact katie.pyles@principia.edu for more information about the jazz clinic.

“Coming to this clinic, we’d like you to have a little bit of jazz knowledge,” Evans added. “We’ve got two tracks. There will be a beginners track and an intermediate/advanced track. But you need to have some awareness of jazz to be able to have a good time at this clinic.”

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While the clinic should be a lot of fun for students, Evans is especially looking forward to the evening’s free concert. Harrold’s family gospel group was “hugely popular” across the Midwest in the 70s, Evans said. Harrold’s great-grandfather, Frank Harrold, would travel around St. Louis and teach jazz to kids, which is how Evans discovered music.

“I was one of those kids who was kind of rescued from the street by Frank Harrold,” he shared. “As I came up in the group, I began to be a teacher, and Emanuel was one of the little kids I was teaching there. That was fun and full circle. Now, Emanuel is a graduate of New School out of New York. He has performed with many of the contemporary greats and legends in jazz.”

Evans is excited to welcome Harrold back to Principia School, where Harrold’s daughter is a student. He believes this clinic and concert will be great opportunities for the students to engage with jazz.

Evans added that Principia School’s jazz program has struggled in recent years following the COVID-19 pandemic, and he hopes the experience will enrich the program and encourage more engagement.

“COVID hit us big, like it did so many other places. Our jazz program has just really taken a one-two punch,” he explained. “We just kind of lost that footing. We’re looking to get ourselves back into everybody’s music language, and we thought we’d make a splash in doing so by offering an educational opportunity and a performance opportunity.”

Evans hopes to see many students and community members at the clinic and concert on Jan. 25. The school aims to share their programs with the larger St. Louis region. He encourages the community to come out and enjoy everything Principia School has to offer.

“Principia is a small school and has a small community, but we want to be great neighbors to West County and we want to be great neighbors to the Greater St. Louis area,” he said. “So come and enjoy and have fun with us, not just our jazz program, but our productions and our sports tournaments. We welcome you.”