Conference 2021: Opening Session with Wynton Marsalis

Speaker: Wynton Marsalis, Managing and Artistic Director, Jazz at Lincoln Center, Wynton Marsalis Enterprises, Inc.

World-renowned musician, composer, and bandleader Wynton Marsalis kicked off the Conference on Monday, June 7 in an interview by League President and CEO Simon Woods.

From his point of view as an educator and leading advocate of American culture, Wynton reflects on what he sees as the future of the arts and orchestras in expanding musical offerings and audiences. He shared his core beliefs, which are based on the principles of jazz: individual creativity (improvisation), collective cooperation (swing), and facing adversity with persistent optimism (the blues).

In 1983, Wynton became the first and only artist to win classical and jazz Grammy Awards in the same year; he won in both categories again in 1984. A prolific and inventive composer, he has performed and composed across the full jazz spectrum—from its New Orleans roots to bebop to modern jazz—and has composed a violin concerto and four symphonies that introduced new rhythms to the classical canon. In addition, Wynton co-founded Jazz at Lincoln Center, the first-ever new, permanent constituent at the NYC performing arts center since its start.

Talaske | Sound Thinking generously co-sponsored this session.