"We invite all Miami-Dade high school students, particularly those focusing on jazz, to come and participate in the live sound check during our Jazz Roots series," says Lakeisha Frith, director of education for the Arsht Center.
The program, which was established in 2008, has hosted 15,000 students at a pre-concert sound check; a Q&A session with featured artists; a workshop with a local jazz expert highlighting the music, artistic process, and practical skills needed for a career in the arts; and entry to the evening's performance, with transportation and dinner provided — all free of charge.
This year's program featured a tribute to Henry Mancini's 100th birthday, featuring his daughter, vocalist Monica Mancini, with a Q&A session led by Shelly Berg, dean of the University of Miami's Frost School of Music and one of the founders of the series. In December, it's saxophonist Dave Koz and the Dave Koz and Friends Christmas Tour, followed by the return of legendary Cuban pianist and composer Chucho Valdes commemorating the 50th anniversary of his Afro-Cuban jazz band Irakere and ending with an evening of soul with singer-songwriter Gregory Porter, both in February.
For the past two seasons, Frith has been hiring local musicians and incorporating a jazz session into the event in place of a lecture.
"Students have jammed with jazz greats like Melton Mustafa, Jr. and legends like Chucho Valdes and many others who have come to jam with the students. When I tell you we must pull them from that session, I'm not exaggerating," says Frith.

Jazz singer Nnenna Freelon, saxophonist and songwriter Kirk Whalum, music producer Carl Griffin, singer-songwriter Clint Holmes, and dean of the University of Miami Frost School of Music Shelly Berg on stage at the Arsht Center during a Jazz Roots Q&A session.
Photo by Justin Namon
"SoundCheck was my first exposure to the Arsht Center's Education Program. I won tickets to the SoundCheck on Spike Lee films, and there I noticed all these students sitting in the back of the house," Frith says. "I studied classical violin and music and worked for the Greater Miami Youth Symphony prior to the Arsht, so being here working on this jazz program with these Miami students is a full circle moment."
One of those students who will be attending again this year is Joseph Wasilewski, a sophomore at Arthur & Polly Mays Conservatory for the Arts in South Miami-Dade. He began there in middle school and plays trombone in concert and jazz. He first attended SoundCheck in eighth grade and saw the Brubeck Brothers.
"That performance sparked something in me and helped me really fuel my passion. Hearing about their life and career really inspired me to pursue my music even more," says Wasilewski.
The following year, he attended the master class with jazz great Branford Marsalis, who Wasilewski says "talked about being 16 or 17 when he started, which was kind of late in life for him, and then seeing him perform, it was truly one of the most amazing performances I've ever seen."

High school music students get feedback from Latin jazz legend Chucho Valdes as part of the Arsht Center's Jazz Roots SoundCheck program.
Photo by Daniel Azoulay
There are those students that attend, however, that have never been to a performance at the Arsht Center, and for them, Frith says, "it is just as important to chat with these artists and experience from them what it is like being an artist and also teaching, performing and giving back to the community."
She is proud to host world-class performers on the Arsht Center stage, watch them connect with these students, and inspire and motivate them in their artistic pursuits.
To learn more about the Jazz Roots: SoundCheck Program, visit arshtcenter.org/education.
– Josie Gulliksen, ArtburstMiami.com