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Pentucket Regional Middle High School’s Fine & Performing Arts Department Chair David Schumacher brought with him a special tradition when he joined the district in 2000.
This Friday, he’ll join those celebrating and performing during the 25th anniversary of Pentucket’s Café Jazz.
“I grew up in Plattsburgh, N.Y., and played in my school’s jazz band from grades six through 12. Our director, Richard Rabideau, held our jazz concerts in the school cafeteria with dim lighting, decorations, cafeteria tables for seating and a potluck refreshment table to enjoy after the show,” Schumacher explains. Rabideau called these concerts “Café Jazz.”
“I chose to carry on that lineage when I came to Pentucket. Both as an homage to Rabideau, who had such a tremendous influence on my ultimate path as a jazz musician and teacher, and because I wanted our Pentucket students to experience the same intimate atmosphere for their performances,” Schumacher says.
Pentucket staff, students and community members will celebrate the award-winning legacy of the District’s jazz performances, held since 2001, from more than 50 jazz alumni stretching back 25 years to Café Jazz’s inception. The free event will take place Friday, May 9, at 7 p.m. in the Pentucket Regional Middle High School Dining Commons.
There will be live performances from alumni and video submissions from those who can’t make it in person. Students will reflect on their time in the Pentucket Jazz program and share their latest adventures in a “Where Are We Now?” video montage.
The grand finale will feature a joint performance of alumni and current students playing music originally programmed on the very first Café Jazz in 2001.