Mellon Jazz Continues Community Involvement/Educational Outreach Through Sponsorship of 2004 Villanova Jazz Festival - Mellon also sponsoring 14 concerts during 2004-2005 Kimmel Center Presents series - PHILADELPHIA, March 24 /PRNewswire/ -- Mellon Financial Corporation today announced that it will serve as the presenting sponsor of the week-long Villanova Jazz Festival that begins on Sunday, March 28, and also will continue its partnership with The Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, with 14 concerts scheduled for the recently-announced 2004-05 season. "Mellon's 19th year of support for jazz in Philadelphia will truly be a year-round experience," said Paul Kochis, chairman of Mellon Mid-Atlantic and senior executive in the Philadelphia area. "Our programming for 2004 Mellon Jazz not only builds on our affiliation with 'Kimmel Center Presents' by offering exciting concerts with world-class performers, but also establishes a relationship with the Villanova Jazz Festival to continue our long-standing commitment to jazz education," said Paul Kochis, chairman of Mellon Mid- Atlantic and senior executive in the Philadelphia area. "This approach strengthens the connection between jazz and the other components of Mellon's community affairs programs in our region." The Villanova Jazz Festival, now in its 23rd year, includes an exciting line-up of high school, college and professional jazz musicians. The educational component of this year's Festival, featuring Grammy Award-winner Nestor Torres, includes two community outreach programs for inner-city music students from the School District of Philadelphia. Students will receive instruction on the technical aspects of playing, music theory, phrasing and tone development. Torres and his band highlight the festival with a ticketed feature performance at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, April 3 in Connelly Center's Villanova Room. Since his initial release in 1989, this jazz flautist has been captivating audiences with his sensual mix of Latin, jazz and pop sounds. Born in Puerto Rico in 1957, Torres started flute lessons at age 12 and after his family moved to New York City, he went on to study both jazz and classical music at the Mannes School of Music in New York and the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston. In 2001, he captured a Latin Grammy for "This Side of Paradise." Torres has just released "Sin Palabras (Without Words)," which features a number of talented producers. The Villanova Jazz Festival kicks off at 11 a.m. on Sunday, March 28 with an invitational high school band competition, featuring schools from four states. A listing of all festival events can be found at the end of this release. Information also is available by calling (610) 519-7214 or on the Internet at www21.homepage.villanova.edu/brian.bardi/jazzfest/home.htm . 2004 Mellon Jazz will present 14 sponsored concerts during The Kimmel Center's 2004-2005 season. This includes six "Mellon Jazz Fridays" events, featuring the saxophone in a variety of settings, and five "Mellon Jazz Up Close: Take the Col'train" programs, which pay tribute to composer, saxophonist and adopted son of Philadelphia, John Coltrane. Mellon's jazz-related activities in Philadelphia also will include the presentation of the 2004 Mellon Jazz Community Award. The 2003 recipient, Tony Williams, was recognized for his dedicated efforts in jazz education and ensuring that Philadelphia's tradition of jazz excellence gets passed along to future generations. Students from the Mount Airy Cultural Center (MACC), which Williams founded as a means to preserve jazz as a uniquely American art form, are participating in the community outreach segment of the Villanova Jazz Festival. The 2004 Mellon Jazz Community awardee will be announced later this spring. More information on 2004 Mellon Jazz is available on the Internet at http://www.mellon.com/jazz . Mellon Financial Corporation is a global financial services company. Headquartered in Pittsburgh, Mellon is one of the world's leading providers of financial services for institutions, corporations and high net worth individuals, providing institutional asset management, mutual funds, private wealth management, asset servicing, human resources and investor solutions, and treasury services. Mellon has approximately $3.5 trillion in assets under management, administration or custody, including $657 billion under management. Its asset management companies include The Dreyfus Corporation and U.K.-based Newton Investment Management Limited. News and other information about Mellon is available at http://www.mellon.com/ . Mellon Jazz Presents the 2004 Villanova Jazz Festival (Events are free unless noted) Sunday, March 28 at 11 a.m. - St. Mary's Hall Chapel Invitational High School Band Competition Scheduled participants are from Norwalk in Connecticut; Cherry Hill East, Overbrook and Southern Regional in New Jersey; Mamaroneck in New York; and Bensalem, Lower Merion and North Penn in Pennsylvania. Monday, March 29 through Friday, April 2 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. - Belle Aire Terrace in Connelly Center "Jazz at Noon" each weekday, featuring students from Philadelphia's University of the Arts Wednesday, March 31 at 7:30p.m. - Connelly Center Cinema Lecture on the Development of Latin Jazz, including a screening of The Mambo Kings" Wednesday, March 31 at 8:30 p.m. - St. Mary's Hall Chapel Villanova University Jazz Ensemble and Guests Friday, April 2 at 2 p.m. - Grover Washington Jr. Middle School (B Street and Olney Avenue) Inner-city workshop and master class with Nestor Torres for public school music students Friday, April 2 from 7-11 p.m. - Belle Aire Terrace in Connelly Center Intercollegiate Combo Competition Scheduled participants are from Ashland University, Norfolk State University, Temple University and Western Connecticut State Saturday, April 3 at 10:30 a.m. - St. Mary's Hall Chapel Workshop and master classwith Nestor Torres for Mount Airy Cultural Center's jazz ensemble Saturday, April 3 from 11 a.m. - 4 p.m. - Villanova Room in Connelly Center Intercollegiate Jazz Band Competition Scheduled participants are from Ashland University, Norfolk State University, Montclair State University, Temple University and Western Connecticut State Saturday, April 3 at 7:30 p.m. - Villanova Room in Connelly Center Feature ticketed performance with flutist Nestor Torres and his band Tickets are $20, $15 and $10 DATASOURCE: Mellon Financial Corporation CONTACT: Ron Gruendl, Corporate Affairs of Mellon Financial Corporation, +1-412-234-7157, or Web site: http://www.mellon.com/ http://www.mellon.com/jazz http://www21.homepage.villanova.edu/brian.bardi/jazzfest/home.htm

Copyright