ABOUT OUR HIGHLIGHTS: As professional musicians, we find that we are inherently doing pretty cool things most days. And when we add the cool things that we do as a family, there’s more. We chose one item for each month and that was very difficult to do for most of the 12 months.
January 2025
Terri Anderson Burnett started playing the piano again this year. We were gifted this wonderful baby grand piano by the family of two wonderful people and mentors who welcomed us into the KC artistic community two dozen years ago. January included other cool things that we do every month.
February 2025
I had the distinct honor and privilege of presenting a music clinic for the Kansas Music Educators Association In-Service Workshop with Dr. Jared Prost. It went well and was very well received. We presented useful tactics for developing an effective high school jazz band program that includes improvisation. Thanks to Conn-Selmer for their tangible artists sponsorship support too.
March 2025
A former jazz studies student who is graduating soon from college showed us the apps that facilitates using our iPad as a literal music folder. We still use paper music sheets but having the digital option is tremendously convenient.
April 2025 One of my best music scene friends took this photograph of me. It was just at the conclusion of my clinic with one of the high school jazz bands attending the 18th and Vine Student Jazz Festival. I really enjoy giving clinics. The best part is hearing the differences in the students’ performances after they are given different musical perspectives to consider.
May 2025
We began taking time for self-care several years ago. Our medical and dental healthcare, of course. But we have come to appreciate that self-care is healthcare too. Our adult children have adult children now and all of them are doing well in their own family lives. We don’t have anyone in our nest except the two of us. It was strange at first but we have adjusted and like it. We love our progeny and have lived to see 6 generations of our family. Our family branch never leaves anyone behind. We also love this time in life because the two us are able to have time together like this and just be us again. We also needed to learn to let go of people, places, and things that have already let go of us. We learned that holding onto them is a form of self abuse.
June 2025
It is validation when something that we have been given a vision to do just continues to grow. Our youth jazz program began with an idea in 2012, then began in tangible form in 2018. 2026 will be our 8th season. It’s amazing what can be accomplished when people work together serving a very worthwhile endeavor such as this. We believe that our mandate as elders is to empower, teach and mentor the next generation in cultural activities like American jazz music. The arts are best learned and perpetuated by master artists passing down knowledge and viable practices to the younger artists in the continuum.
July 2025
August 2025
September 2025
October 2025
November 2025
December 2025