From Left: Andrea Thomas, Forgotten Song Foundation Scholarship Director, stands with scholarship recipients: Jeymar Perez Mendoza, Michael Gigante, Jason Vazquez, Peter Goomroyan, Amy Crosley, and Jake Macias.

RHYTHM STREET

BY ANN PARENTI

The season of summer madness arrived and the town was alive and hot with all sorts of wonderful shows, art gallery showings, concerts and musicals.

I was one of the fortunate ones to be able to see Hamilton at the Smith Center in June and it was as fabulous as everyone said it would be. I still sometimes can’t believe we have a place like The Smith Center to call our own. One of my favorite spots at the center is Myron’s Jazz Cabaret. I have witnessed so many outrageously talented performers in that room over the last several years that I would have to take this entire column to list them all beside what I have seen in Reynolds Hall. There is one show, however, that is very near and dear to my heart, The Composer Showcase. It happens once a month at 10:30PM on a Wednesday night. If you are lucky enough to get a seat, it tends to sell out every time, you will not be disappointed that you stayed up past your bedtime in the middle of a work week. The incredibly talented Keith Thompson, whose credits are too numerous to list, hosts the evening and it is never the same show twice. Performers from across the city join in that night to showcase an original composition that they personally created and they perform it in front of an audience and their peers. The caliber of songwriters, musicians and vocalists who perform the songs will astound you. The Composer Showcase recently became a 501c3 foundation and Forgotten Song Foundation decided to gift them with a grant to assist in their new journey. I am told there will be some fun things on the horizon to look forward to this year. To learn more visit: www.thecomposershowcase.com.

In addition, Forgotten Song Foundation also gave The Joyce Straus Foundation a grant. They are a new foundation and their goal is to offer art classes to children and teens who are students at the Core Academy and a host of others. Last year, we gifted Core Academy with a grant and with the formation of The Joyce Straus Foundation, we felt it logical to gift them directly. Visit joycestraus.com to see some of the wonderful things they do at their foundation.

We also gave a grant to American Jazz Initiative to help fund the CD, “The Las Vegas Suite” and Forgotten Song Music matched the grant funds and will submit to the Grammy’s this next year. Read Carolyn Freeman’s article in this edition to learn more about the exciting adventure that these two Fairy Godmothers of Jazz are about to partake in. Let’s just say I see great things ahead! Find out more at:
www.americanjazzinitiative.org.

Forgotten Song Foundation gave out $10,000 in scholarships and grants at the VIVA Awards on May 19 at The Historic Fifth Street School. In addition to the three foundations mentioned above we gave out several scholarships to UNLV Jazz Studies and Art Studies students and a Jazz Studies student at CSN, too. It was a great evening and even though the I-95 freeway was closed at Martin Luther King and Las Vegas Boulevard, our guests found their way to the event that was, of course, right off Las Vegas Boulevard! That is what you call dedicated and determined supporters of our foundation! Thanks to all who attended and happy to hear from so many guests that it was the best year yet. To see the additional photos and a video of the evening, visit:
www.forgottensongfoundation.org.

Forgotten Song Foundation has some exciting events in store soon. We can’t wait to share them with you soon. In the meantime, have a wonderful autumn ahead, and if you plan to visit Las Vegas or if you live here, go visit a gallery, go see a concert, get tickets to a musical or all the above. After all, it is Las Vegas, the entertainment capital of the world!