Residencies
Britt Education & Engagement offers a variety of residency programs throughout the school year, at no cost to Jackson and Josephine county schools. Local, regional and national teaching artists are brought directly into classrooms to connect with pre-K through graduate level students during each school term. Residencies range from a single school visit to a full year of interactive presentations, lectures, master classes, and affordably priced performances in our community. Many of our residencies are in partnership with other local arts organizations and educational institutions, and all school visits are always free.
If you’d like a celebrated teaching artist to visit your school, contact our Director of Education & Engagement at kay.hilton@brittfest.org
Residency Artists for Fall 2023
Ursula Barton
October 24 - 26
Ursula Barton, a graduate of Pacific Northwest College of Art, is a freelance visual artist and muralist who focuses on painting urban landscapes and ink life drawings and portraits. Her work is inspired by her many bike rides across the bridges of Portland, Oregon. Ursula returns to the Rogue Valley to work with elementary school students at Ruch Outdoor School to create a mural at their school.
Pearl Django
October 24 - 26
As part of our multi-year partnership with Siskyou Music Project, Britt Education will bring Pearl Django to a variety of local high school jazz classes, as well as the SOU jazz ensemble class. They will also be presented in concert by Siskiyou Music Project as part of their subscription series. Pearl Django is a jazz group established in 1994 in Tacoma, Washington by guitarists Neil Andersson and Dudley Hill and bassist David "Pope" Firman. The group melds the music of Django Reinhardt and Stephane Grappelli with American Swing. Initially a trio are now a quintet. They have performed at the prestigious Festival Django Reinhardt in Samois-sur-Seine René Izquierdo
November 8 - 11
Our second partnership program with the Guitar Society of Southern Oregon will be to bring the Cuban-born classical guitarist, René Izquierdo, to southern Oregon. “René’s career has been dedicated to inspiring individuals and connecting communities through his ‘unforgettable versatility, sensitivity and sublime musicianship’ [Classical Guitar Magazine]. Whether performing on stage, mentoring his students or leading community outreach, René endeavors to create experiences that enrich people’s lives. Whether as a solo performer, chamber musician or orchestra soloist, he has performed to critical acclaim throughout the Americas, Europe and Asia.” René will bring both European classical guitar repertoire and music from his Cuban heritage to local classrooms, and to his ticketed performance at the SOU Recital Hall on November 11th.
Residency Program Sponsor
"We often provide outreach in addition to concerts, but this particular residency was extra meaningful. In addition to being very well-organized, we were accompanied to each school visit, and were matched with relevant schools and programs so we were able to offer our educational outreach to the students who most benefited from interacting with us. We had some of the best engagement we've ever seen, and walked away from each school buzzing from the comments from students. It's a wonderful feeling to know you have impacted a young student, and we felt like we connected with and inspired various students at each school we visited." - Jača
Fellowship Artistic Advisor & Mentor, Alexandra Preucil, performs at the Rogue Valley Manor in July of 2021 with members of the Grants Pass Orchestra Program after three days of coaching sessions.
The Anderson Brothers Trio improvises with the Phoenix High School Jazz Band.
Students enjoy the Meriwethers Residency at Sunny Wolf Charter School.