NEW ORLEANS (AP) 鈥 The New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival each spring is known for hosting some of the world's most famous jazz, funk and rock acts. Yet it's also become a showcase for lesser-known talent: local schoolchildren.
Gospel choirs from area high schools took the stage Friday at famed Gospel Tent, continuing a decades-long tradition for Louisiana students.
First up to perform was the Eleanor McMain choir, jolting the audience with a blast of musical joy, from the rollicking call-and-response of 鈥淢elodies From Heaven鈥 to an a cappella rendition of the 鈥淏attle Hymn of the Republic.鈥
Choir member Chloe Bailey, 18, said the performance is about pride.
鈥淣ot only do I get to make myself proud, my parents proud, I get to make the whole world proud and have a look of how beautiful it is to see Black people and Black children thriving and going up higher, because we don鈥檛 get a lot of opportunities like this,鈥 she said.
In a city with a rich music heritage, the festival is a prized opportunity to celebrate arts that teachers say do not receive the attention they once did in schools.
Music education suffered in New Orleans in the 1990s due to funding cuts, said Matthew Sakakeeny, a professor of music at Tulane University. Up until then, majority Black schools typically had at least one full-time music teacher, even when , but dozens of teachers lost their jobs and offerings were 鈥渄rastically cut back,鈥 he said.
Hurricane Katrina was another blow, leading to the city's traditional public schools being replaced with charter schools. Sakakeeny said there鈥檚 enormous pressure to focus on core academics, rather than arts, as they鈥檒l get shut down if their test scores are not good enough.
鈥淚t鈥檚 just ironic that we鈥檙e the birthplace of jazz, yet middle school students, elementary school students might not even go to a music class,鈥 said Emeka Dibia, the choir director McDonogh 35, the first public high school established for Black students in New Orleans.
Gospel has been an integral part of Jazz Fest since it began in 1970, headlined by gospel legend Mahalia Jackson. Students from McDonogh 35 started performing in the 1970s, and more schools followed, Dibia said. It鈥檚 now tradition for Jazz Fest to have a day featuring student gospel choirs.
Even the artist featured on this year鈥檚 official Jazz Fest poster, Tarriona 鈥淭ank鈥 Ball of Tank and the Bangas, performed in the Gospel Tent when she was in ninth grade.
Choirs from another historic Black public high school, L.B. Landry, as well as two local Christian schools performed Friday, while McDonogh 35 will perform next week.
McMain soloist Tyree Arso, 18, said it鈥檚 amazing to think about performing at the same festival as artists like Lil Wayne.
鈥淚t makes me recognize the people who have come before me, and it reminds me to try to do my best to honor them,鈥 said Arso, who will attend the Boston Conservatory at Berklee next year.
Gospel choir is an extracurricular activity at schools like McMain, where choir director Clyde Lawrence has been mentoring young singers for decades. He said religious music is allowed in a public school setting because there鈥檚 educational value to learning about a variety of musical styles.
鈥淚 want to expose them to our heritage, to gospels, to hymns,鈥 he said.
Choirs are paid to perform at Jazz Fest, which provides funding for arts education. But the opportunity matters for other reasons to students like Leah Hawkins, a sophomore at McDonogh 35.
Leah says she鈥檚 been surrounded by gospel her whole life, but in front of an audience she鈥檇 shake with stage fright. Her mom told her to join choir anyway: 鈥淵ou鈥檙e going to sing.鈥
Since then, Leah, 16, said her confidence has blossomed.
鈥淵ou can鈥檛 care about what people think. If you have a voice then use it, it doesn鈥檛 matter what it鈥檚 for,鈥 said Leah.
Her choirmate Wesley Whitsett, 17, said he also needed an adult to push him to get over his nerves. Both students sang with a student choir at the opening of this year's Super Bowl, performing 鈥淟ift Every Voice and Sing鈥 with Ledisi.
鈥淚 didn鈥檛 know I could do that. I thank God that he gave me the opportunity to sing,鈥 said Wesley.
Yet even for kids who have performed at the Superdome, there's something about the Gospel Tent stage. There may have been millions of people watching the Super Bowl, but Jazz Fest represents New Orleans鈥 soul.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 even know what kind of feeling it is,鈥 said Leah. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a very big feeling, I can say that.鈥
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