Peer-to-Peer Program
Through the Institute’s National Peer-to-Peer Jazz Education Program, gifted high school
musicians from our National Performing Arts High Schools program participate in weeklong
tours, presenting concerts and workshops for their peers in middle and high schools throughout the United States. Since 2006, the student musicians have been accompanied by such distinguished guest artists as vocalists Lisa Henry, Kellylee Evans, and Charenee Wade; saxophonists Don Braden, Antonio Hart, Dayna Stephens, Bobby Watson, and Steve Wilson; guitarist Bobby Broom; trumpeters Ambrose Akinmusire, Ingrid Jensen, Sean Jones, and Terell Stafford; trombonists Robin Eubanks and Delfeayo Marsalis; pianists Gerald Clayton and Herbie Hancock; and bassist Christian McBride.
Upcoming Tours
Having visited 36 states to date, the Institute’s Peer-to-Peer ensembles will travel to Alabama, Iowa, Kansas, and Nevada in 2025, presenting concerts and workshops for students in public middle and high schools as well as in performance venues open to the general public.
Recent Activities
In May 2024, Institute students traveled to Rhode Island and Wyoming, accompanied by jazz masters Don Braden, Terell Stafford, and Lisa Henry. In addition to performing at numerous public middle and high schools, the Peer-to-Peer groups also gave highly anticipated concerts for local audiences at the Blue Room in Cranston, RI, and the Surbrugg/Prentice Auditorium in Cheyenne, WY.
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Collaboration with the U.S. Department of Education
The Institute is proud to maintain a longstanding collaboration with the U.S. Department of Education (ED), presenting an annual educational peer-to-peer “informance”—a combination of performance and educational information—at ED headquarters in Washington, DC. These events highlight the importance of music education in our public schools.
Program Information
On each day of the Peer-to-Peer tour, the student musicians along with two guest artists—an instrumentalist and a vocalist—present a jazz “informance” (informational performance) for the entire student body at a different school. They play various styles of jazz and engage with student audiences, discussing what jazz is, its importance to America, and how a jazz ensemble represents a perfect democracy. Throughout each presentation, the student musicians and guest artists emphasize the values that jazz represents: teamwork, diversity, the correlation of hard work and goal accomplishment, persistence and perseverance, democracy, and the vital importance of really listening to one another. They also discuss the importance of finding a passion for something early in life, working hard at it, believing in yourself, and going for it.
Following each informance, the guest instrumental artist conducts a jazz workshop for the host school’s jazz band in which the visiting student performers play alongside their like-instrument counterparts, providing hands-on tutelage peer to peer. Simultaneously, the guest vocalist leads a vocal jazz workshop for the school’s choir. Each tour also includes a public concert at local jazz club or other performance venue, giving the touring student ensembles invaluable experience performing with renowned artists while fostering future jazz audiences.
Nationwide Impact
Peer-to-Peer Jazz Education Tours have been presented in numerous cities across the country, including Albuquerque, Anchorage, Austin, Baltimore, Bentonville, Berkeley, Boston, Buffalo, Burlington, Charleston, Charlottesville, Cheyenne, Chicago, Denver, Detroit, Dover, Fargo, Fayetteville, Fort Pierce, Honolulu, Houston, Indianapolis, Jacksonville, Kansas City, Laramie, Los Angeles, Manchester, Memphis, Miami, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, New York, Newark, Newport, Oakland, Oklahoma City, Omaha, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Pittsburgh, Portland, Providence, Richmond, Rochester, Salt Lake City, San Antonio, San Diego, San Francisco, Santa Fe, Savannah, Seattle, Sioux Falls, Stuart, St. Augustine, St. Paul, Tucson, Tulsa, Warwick, Washington, DC, Williamsburg, and Wilmington. Each year, the program resonates with students and adults alike.
By the close of 2025, the Peer-to-Peer program will have impacted students in a total of 40 U.S. states, plus the District of Columbia, since launching in 2006. Plans are underway for tours to the remaining ten states in the coming years.
Program Support
The Herbie Hancock Institute’s National Peer-to-Peer Education Program receives lead funding from the National Endowment for the Arts and United Airlines.