LEWES, DELAWARE (Jan. 4, 2022) — Paul Kares, a Lewes, Delaware-based nonprofit organization, recently donated $3,000 to the Cape Henlopen High School Jazz Band. The funds will help pay the group’s travel expenses to the National Association for Music Education (NAfME) Eastern Division Conference, scheduled for April 13-16, in Rochester, New York.
The band is one of two jazz bands invited to perform at the event, which is the largest U.S. organization dedicated to music education. The Eastern Division includes greater New York, Philadelphia, Boston and the D.C./Baltimore area.
“We are so grateful to Paul Kares for this award, which goes a long way to helping fund our trip,” said Chris Burkhart, director of bands at Cape Henlopen High School, who accepted the check at a holiday performance at The Room at Cedar Grove in Lewes.
The competition to perform at NAfME is fierce; applicants include high school, college and military ensembles. “It’s a very big deal, and you must apply one year in advance since they only hold the conference every other year,” Burkhart said.
The cost is about $350 to $400 per student, including transportation, accommodations and incidentals.
“We are pleased and proud to be able to help the Cape Henlopen Jazz Band represent Delaware in April,” said Michael Whitehouse, executive director of Paul Kares. “They are an amazingly talented group of musicians with a promising future — both collectively and individually — and clearly deserve this recognition and the community’s support.”
Paul Kares was founded by area musician and chef Paul Cullen and friend James Rivette to support young people pursuing careers in music and the culinary arts. Cullen was a bass guitarist with the band Bad Company.
The nonprofit offers funds for financial assistance, instruments, culinary kitchen tools and scholarships covering tuition fees for specialty camps, schools and programs.