AMPD’s Nick Nurse Foundation Summer Jazz & Groove Lab will create better access for Indigenous and racialized students
In July 2023, a $40,000 donation from the Nick Nurse Foundation provided a rare opportunity for 50 high school students to study under Juno-award winning and internationally recognized jazz and gospel artists at York’s School of AMPD.
The donation provided bursaries for equity-deserving students to attend the newly-named Nick Nurse Foundation Summer Jazz & Groove Lab – a week-long, intensive program that culminated in a public performance. A portion of the donation funded participation bursaries for high school students who are Black, Indigenous, and/or people of colour, and young women. It also supported classes, workshops and guest artist visits at the Lab.
Artists who participated in the Lab include AMPD faculty members Professor Sundar Viswanathan, Professor Karen Burke, and Lorne Lofsky. The Lab began in Summer 2021 as an online opportunity for high school students, as the vision of music professors Cadó and Lemish. It is now a mainstay at York and began the inclusion of jazz and gospel in its Music degree program.