Artist in Residence Program through the Years

8/29/2022

by Tiffany Townsend, Director of Marketing & Communications

For the past eight years, High School students at Ensworth have benefited from the inspiration of artists through the Artist in Residence program.

Established in 2014 through the generosity of an endowed gift, the program brings in experts in various artistic fields for a series of sessions within current classes, exposing students to new and innovative ideas and introducing them to influential leaders of the Nashville arts community. Thoughtful intentionality goes into the process of selecting each year’s artists to ensure that all aspects of the visual and performing arts department benefit from the program.

This year’s visiting artists were jazz saxophonist Evan Cobb, who worked with the Jazz Band, and professional dancer and choreographer Natalie Aaron, who helped the Dance Company choreograph and produce a video that premiered at the spring dance concert.

Evan Cobb is known as a leading force in Nashville’s music scene as a jazz player, session player, and horn section member. He has performed with a wide array of artists including Steven Tyler, Chris Stapleton, Maren Morris, Mavis Staples, Aretha Franklin, Jerry Lee Lewis, George Strait, Brett Eldredge, Cage the Elephant, and the Nashville Symphony.

The focus of Cobb’s work with the Ensworth Jazz Band was on the art of improvising. He engaged with students in a deep dive into the world of saxophone improvisation as inspired by the jazz greats such as John Coltrane, Sonny Rollins, Dexter Gordon, and Joe Henderson. Bringing his expertise as a section leader, Cobb guided the Jazz Band to perform with a crew of professional session musicians at the Spring Concert, playing a variety of styles including Big Band, Rock, Pop, Funk, Motown, and R&B. Students learned advanced articulations, phrasing, and stylistic interpretations as modeled by some of the highest level Nashville jazz musicians by playing alongside these outstanding performers.

“Evan’s command of a variety of styles really helped the group evolve and deepen its understanding of what it means to play music from a 20th Century American perspective. The effect of a year-long experience under his mentorship was extremely evident by the year’s end. The group is simply playing at a different level than it was a year ago,” shares Jim Aveni, Visual and Performing Arts Department Chair. “The ensemble of top veteran Nashville session musicians that Evan brought in to perform with our students during the Spring Concert created a memorable and impactful culminating performance to the year’s work. Evan was super fun to work with and the students enjoyed having him around as a musician and as a teacher. He brought not only a world of knowledge to the classroom, but equal parts laughter and joy to the ensemble. We are grateful for his time with us!”

Meanwhile, in the dance studio, Natalie Aaron was helping the Dance Company prepare for their spring concert. A Nashville-based professional dancer and choreographer, Aaron specializes in hip hop and commercial dance styles. She has trained locally at DC Dance Factory, holds a degree in Kinesiology, and has built a successful dance career working with artists such as Pitbull, Luke Bryan, Trace Adkins, Chris Lane, and more. Aaron is also a sought-after instructor who teaches and choreographs for various studios across the country.

Aaron worked with the Dance Company to choreograph and produce a High School Musical-style music video to open the Spring Dance concert. Aaron choreographed, set, and provided creative direction for the music video, giving dance students the unique experience of working with a professional choreographer on a commercial shoot.

“There’s no question that dance has increasingly become a main ingredient in commercials, film, music videos, and on popular social media platforms, such as Tik Tok. Many of the professional opportunities for dancers in Music City require working knowledge of how to operate on a commercial dance shoot,” shares Lindsay White, Director of Ensworth School of Dance. “Performing for the camera requires a unique set of skills for dancers, many that can only be learned first-hand. In creating the opening music video for Technicolor, Company members had a quick turnaround to learn intricate choreography and blocking, often having to adjust things in real-time to account for a different set location or camera angle. Improvisation played a large role in the creative process, as dancers were called upon in the moment to freestyle for various shots in the video. These unchoreographed moments required individual dancers to think on their feet and showcase their unique strengths and personalities, from Noelle Jamison’s stylized dribbling in the basketball gym, to Hailey Riven’s jazzy freestyle in the football bleachers. Not only did the dancers learn a lot from their collaboration with Natalie, but they had a great time in the process. Hearing their ‘oohs and ahhs’ as they sat onstage to watch the video for the first time before the dance concert was a special moment, and they all seemed proud of how it turned out.”