Park West Gallery Raises Over $30,000 for the Amelia Island Jazz Festival & Scholarship Fund
The popular jazz festival kicked off a new year of live performances with their 2021 Big Band Bash
AMELIA ISLAND, Fla., May 19, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- As live music venues begin re-opening all over the world, Florida's legendary Amelia Island Jazz Festival (AIJF) decided to kick off their new season of music with a big "bash." The festival's 10th annual Big Band Bash brought the house down at the Omni Amelia Island Resort this May, treating jazz fans to electrifying live music and raising essential funds to support the organization and their scholarship fund.
Park West Gallery, the world's largest art dealer, has been one of the AIJF's primary sponsors since 2013 and regularly fund-raise for the festival throughout the year. During this year's Big Band Bash, Park West organized a special art auction hosted by Auctioneer Martin Botha, which included an original painting created for the festival by the acclaimed Miami artist Kre8.
Park West has raised over $30,000 for the Amelia Jazz Festival this year to date. All of the proceeds from the annual festival go towards funding music education for children and seniors. The jazz fest also awards one scholarship each year to a promising high school music student.
The festival was co-founded by Les DeMerle—an accomplished drummer and singer who has performed with greats like Frank Sinatra, Lou Rawls, Sammy Davis, Jr., Mel Tormé, and Joe Williams—and his wife, noted vocalist Bonnie Eisele.
The 2021 Big Band Bash treated its guests to fantastic live performances of classic songs by Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Glenn Miller, and other Big Band icons brought to life by the 17-piece Dynamic Les DeMerle Orchestra. DeMerle told local reporters, "It was exciting to play for so many old friends and a packed dance floor filled with superb ballroom dancers."
This year, the 2021 Amelia Island Jazz Festival Scholarship was presented to 17-year-old musician Wyatt Bruno, who delighted the crowd with a virtuoso trumpet performance. "I can't think of a more important time to support young people pursuing their dreams in the arts," said John Block, Park West Gallery's Executive Vice President. "The Amelia Island Jazz Festival does so much to promote live music and young musicians, and we couldn't be more excited to help them with that mission."
Since 2013, a different Park West artist has been selected every year as the festival's "official artist." Past Amelia Island official artists have included Peter Nixon, Alfred Gockel, Tim Yanke, and Marcus Glenn, among others. In addition to the Big Band Bash, Park West will also act as a primary sponsor for the official 2021 Amelia Island Jazz Festival, which takes place from October 3-10.
You can learn more about the Amelia Island Jazz Festival here: https://www.ameliaislandjazzfestival.com/
About Park West Gallery
Park West Gallery is the world's largest art dealer, bringing the experience of collecting fine art to more than 3 million customers since 1969. You can learn more about Park West Gallery and its over 50-year history at http://www.parkwestgallery.com
Park West also hosts live-streaming online art auctions every weekend. To learn more about Park West's online collecting events, visit https://www.parkwestgallery.com/online/
CONTACT: Tom Burns
[email protected]
SOURCE Park West Gallery
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