Performing Arts Initiative Proposal: Kevin Jones Outreach

UNCLAS PARAMARIBO 000211

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR WHA/PDA COLOMBIA BARROSSE, BRIAN GUSS, AND CHAD WEST,
WHA/CAR JROSHOLT

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: OEXC NS
SUBJECT: Performing Arts Initiative Proposal: Kevin Jones Outreach
Tour in Suriname

Ref: Paramaribo 140



1. The following is a Performing Arts Initiative Proposal.

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Activity description
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2. Post will host Kevin Jones, a jazz musician who has previously
performed in Paramaribo as part of the State Department's Jazz
Ambassadors program "Rhythm Road." The program is scheduled for
June 30 - July 5, 2008, and will include music workshops at various
music schools in Suriname. The program will culminate in a 4th of
July performance with 23 Surinamese artists, collectively known as
"Ala Kondre Dron," or "all nations' drums," to promote a message of
multi-cultural unity. Target audiences cover a wide spectrum from
school-age students of music (the national public music school and
national music school) to music teachers (the music college) to the
business, arts, non-governmental organization, and political
communities of Suriname (July 4th celebration).


3. Mr. Jones' value as a performer and as an effective outreach
asset was made evident in the positive reception he received when he
first performed in Paramaribo in January, 2007. Many of last year's
rhythm road attendees have been appealing to the embassy for a
repeat visit, and his return is expected to draw substantial
audiences during his week in country. Mr. Jones is also an
in-demand performer in the New York jazz scene. Those he has
recorded with include the Isley Brothers, Archie Shepp, Charles
McPherson, Babatunde Lea, and Joey DeFrancesco, and had performed
with artists including Whitney Houston and Reggie Workman. He was
co-producer of one of Lea's records, which charted at #6 on the
JazzWeek Radio Chart. In addition, Mr. Jones is a skilled teacher
of percussion instruments and has taught in a variety of classroom
settings, from master classes for at risk children, to clinics on
jazz percussion, to teaching residencies with the Bronx Art
Ensemble.

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Tentative Schedule
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4. The program is tentatively scheduled as follows:

June 30: arrival; workshop at Effendi Ketwaru National Music School
(Cultural Center Suriname); rehearsal with Ala Kondre Dron

July 1: music festival at Tori Oso (Suriname Emancipation Day
event)

July 2: workshop at IOL (music department of the Advanced Teachers'
College). School visits/performances for underpriviledged children
in villages in interior villages of Brokopondo District.

July 3: workshop at NVMS (National Public Music School); rehearsal
with Ala Kondre Dron

July 4: performance with Ala Kondre Dron at Independence Day
reception at Ambassador's residence

July 5: depart

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Budget
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5. Budget:

U.S. $1,000.00: Artist fee (5 days at $200 apiece)
U.S. $1,042.30: round-trip airfare New York/Suriname
U.S. $ 100.00: Surinamese visa
U.S. $ 150.00: miscellaneous travel expenses, including
transportation to/from U.S. airport and visa FedEx fees)
U.S. $2,292.30: Total

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U.S. and Post-specific goals
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6. The Kevin Jones program will support Post's Mission Strategic
Plan (MSP) goal of promoting mutual appreciation and respect between
the general populations of the United States and suriname, and
supports the departmental goal of improving international
understanding.


7. Anti-american sentiment, while not as virulent as in other parts
of the region, is evident in Suriname. Over the past year, Post has
initiated an aggressive cultural programming schedule to improve the
image of the United States with the Surinamese public and to

complement the positive coverage generated by our effective law
enforcement programs and U.S. military sponsored humanitarian
assistance exercises. The Kevin Jones performances will be an
excellent addition to the FY08 cultural programming that has already
taken place, including the "Rhythm Road" concerts, and the series of
events held in honor of black history month: (two public concerts,
one private "jazz jam," and one workshop by the Kelley Johnson
Quartet, one jazz workshop and one drumming demonstration by a local
artist, one movie night, two lectures on Black History topics, and
one Ambassador-hosted lunch for stakeholders. For further details,
see Paramaribo 140, "Two Months, Ten Events, Fifteen Hundred Guests:
Black History Punches-Up in Suriname"). Post has already seen
positive results from this added emphasis on cultural programming.
The MSP calls for an average of six positive print stories per year,
and over the past year post averaged sixteen. Post anticipates that
Mr. Jones' performance will continue to increase the amount of
positive media coverage of U.S. activities in Suriname, and continue
to deepen Surinamese acceptance of a message of U.S. cultural
diversity and ethnic tolerance, values honored very highly by
Surinamers.

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Co-sponsor information
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8. U.S. businesses operating in Suriname, including Avon and
Popeye's Chicken, have contributed over $3,000 to the July 4th
celebration. Other aspects of the program will receive donated
space and volunteer resources for concerts and workshops from the
Surinamese National Public Music School (which is also a recipient
of an Ambassador's Cultural Fund grant),the National Music School,
and the Teachers' College. The students and teachers from these
schools will provide much of the assistance for programming lasting
from June 30 to July 3.

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Program measurement
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9. Post will adhere to the reporting requirement as outlined in
SECSTATE 156978, and report program results via cable express and
mission activity tracker no later than two weeks after program
completion.


10. Post will assess program results via the following quantifiable
indicators: level of attendance at events, and number of positive
media stories that report on the program's events.

GENTON