Bloomington Boogies Education Overview
Bloomington Boogies introduces young people to non-classical styles, and presents free performances, workshops, and master classes by artists who play boogie-woogie, blues, jazz, Gospel, Zydeco, and related music. Support has come from the Bloomington Urban Enterprise Association, Bloomington Arts Commission, Brown County Community Foundation, Inc., the Indiana Arts Commission - which receives support from the State of Indiana and National Endowment for the Arts - and many others. Our educational activities have included:
- Offering free tickets to schools in the Bloomington Urban Enterprise Association Zone, so students/families can attend ticketed weekend concerts. We've offered tickets to Fairview, Templeton, Tri-North, and Jackson Creek.
- Presenting free concerts in schools. During each festival artists perform in schools, if they are in session. Beginning in 2015, Marcia Ball, Bob Seeley, Carl Sonny Leyland, and Craig Brenner performed at Fairview for 360 students and 30 adults. In 2016, Bob Seeley, Bill Sims, Jr., and Ricky Nye performed for 550 students, faculty, and staff at Templeton Elementary. In 2017, Bob Seeley, Bill Sims, Jr., and Mitch Woods played at Fairview while Rob Rio, Josh Paxton, and Kenny "Blues Boss" Wayne performed at Templeton. In 2018 and 2019, hundreds of students enjoyed concerts by Daryl Davis and Cynthia Girtley at Fairview, Templeton, and Tri-North. And in 2022 we presented concerts by Daryl Davis, Lolly Allen, Stephanie Trick & Paolo Alderighi, Monika Herzig, Luke Gillespie, Bruce "Sunpie: Barnes, and Ben Toury which were attended by hundreds of students at Fairview, Templeton, Jackson Creek, and Tri-North. In 2025 Henri Herbert and Brian Holland performed at Jackson Creek, and Eden Brent, Ben Toury, Ricky Nye, and Henri Herbert and Craig Brenner performed at Templeton.
- Offering free workshops and master classes. Each year we present workshops. Workshops began the first year at Templeton; this expanded to free workshops and master classes in multiple schools and community settings during each festival. In 2022 we presented two master classes and four workshops. In 2025 Eden Brent presented a workshop at the Monroe County History Center.
Scroll down for more information about past workshops, master classes, and school concerts.
Read the Aug. 20, 2018 Bloomington Herald-Times article about our piano workshops
View videos and photos from the 2015 concert at Fairview and photos and videos from the first festival
View photos and videos from the 2016 concert at Templeton and photos and videos from the second festival
2026 Educational Activities
Free activities; pre-registration available beginning Sept. 1:
Saturday, Oct. 10
- 11 a.m., Monroe County History Center - WFHB's “Saturday's Child” - Performances by Yoshitaka “Z2” Tsuji and others to be announced
- 2 p.m., Monroe County History Center - Workshop and performance by multi-instrumentalist Deanns Bogart: “Inside the Groove: Blues, Boogie-Woogie & Improvisation”; pre-registration required
- 4 p.m., Waldron Arts Center Lounge - Presentation by Dr. Keith McCutchen: “A Tribute to Three Entities: Blues, Gospel, and Jazz Piano”; pre-registration required
- Additional free performances to be announced
Monday, Oct. 12
- Free concert at Fairview Elementary School, time and performers to be announced
- Free concert at Templeton Elementary School, time and performers to be announced
- Free concert at Tri-North Middle School, time and performers to be announced
- Free concert at Jackson Creek Middle School, time and performers to be announced
The concerts in public schools are for students, faculty, staff, and invited guests.
In addition, we are providing complimentary tickets for our Oct. 11 ticketed concert at the Buskirk-Chumley Theatre to a limited number of students at schools in or adjacent to the Bloomington Urban Enterprise Associations (BUEA) Zone.
2025 PIANO WORKSHOP
Greenville, Mississippi pianist Eden Brent will perform a free workshop and concert at the Monroe County History Center, 202 E 6th St, Bloomington, IN 47408, Sunday, October 19, 2025, beginning at 1:30 p.m.
Eden's presentation will feature Mississippi songwriters included in her standard repertoire. Focus will be female blues pioneers like Lucille Bogan, Lil Green, Memphis Minnie, and Denise LaSalle. Eden will also highlight songs from her most recent album, Getaway Blues, demonstrating some key elements like piano riffs, chord structures, and melody lines that guided the songwriting process.
Space is limited! Youth and aspiring piano players and musicians are the priority for the workshop. If you are a young person interested in the piano or music in general, or you are a musician interested in learning from a master of the blues from Mississippi, you may want to attend this mini-concert/workshop.
Pre-registration will close Saturday, Oct. 18, at 4:30 p.m. You are welcome to come and observe and be seated after those who pre-register have been checked in, as long as space remains. Click to pre-register.
2025 SCHOOL CONCERTS
Concerts in public schools for students, faculty, staff, and invited guests.
- Jackson Creek Middle School, 3980 S Sare Rd, Bloomington, IN 47401 - Monday, Oct. 20, 2025, 10:30 AM: Performances by Henri Herbert and Brian Holland. Watch a video of their performances!
- Templeton Elementary School, 1400 S Brenda Ave, Bloomington, IN 47401 - Monday, Oct. 20, 2025, 2:30 PM: Performances by Eden Brent and Ben Toury, joined by Henri Herbert, Ricky Nye, and Craig Brenner. Watch a video of their performances!
2022 Free Music Workshops and Master Classes
2022 Music Workshops and Master Classes
2022 FREE EDUCATIONAL ACTIVITIES:
- MASTER CLASS: STRIDE PIANO - Saturday, Aug. 13, 2022, 2 p.m., Monroe County History Center, 202 E. Sixth St., Bloomington, IN
Judy Carmichael, one of the world's foremost interpreters of stride and swing piano, presented a Master Class for intermediate and advanced pianists and observers on America’s first popular music - ragtime - and how it evolved into “stride” and both influenced jazz that followed. This Master Class was co-sponsored by the Monroe County History Center with support from the Bloomington Arts Commission, Brown County Community Foundation, Inc., and Indiana Arts Commission, which receives support from the State of Indiana and the National Endowment for the Arts. Limited to 20 participants (participants played for Judy Carmichael) and 60 observers. Preregistration was required.
To prepare:
--View exercises and an arrangement from Judy's book, You Can Play Stride Piano. The book comes with CD with practice and performance tempos; available at https://www.judycarmichael.com/new-products/you-can-play-stride-piano-book. Or play something of your choosing.
- MASTER CLASS: HOW WE APPROACH JAZZ PIANO - Saturday, Aug. 13, 2022, 4 p.m., Unitarian Universalist Church, 2120 N. Fee Lane, Bloomington, IN
Stephanie Trick and Paolo Alderighi, pioneers in using four-hands for jazz piano, having earned widespread success with their arrangements of classics from the stride, ragtime, and boogie woogie traditions, as well as from the Swing Era and the Golden Age of Tin Pan Alley. In this Master Class, Stephanie and Paolo talked about and demonstrated ways to approach jazz piano. With experience and expertise in different styles (Stephanie is more focused on stride and boogie woogie, Paolo on swing and modern jazz) they showed different ways to play standards in a solo setting and shared their knowledge in creating arrangements for four-hands, something they have been working on together for more than 10 years.
To prepare: Participants were asked to prepare a selection (in the jazz, stride, swing, bebop, ragtime, or boogie woogie traditions) to play, and Stephanie and Paolo gave feedback and suggestions. The duo guided participants and observers through the fascinating process of arranging and improvising in piano solo and piano four-hands.
Observers were welcome. Stephanie and Paolo played solo and duets, demonstrating different approaches to jazz.
This Master Class was co-sponsored by the Unitarian Universalist Church with support from the Bloomington Arts Commission, Brown County Community Foundation, Inc., and Indiana Arts Commission, which receives support from the State of Indiana and the National Endowment for the Arts. Targeted to intermediate and advanced pianists, this event welcomed observers, and was limited to 20 participants and 80 observers. Preregistration was required.
- PIANO WORKSHOP - Monday, Aug. 15, 2022, 4 p.m., Fairview Elementary School, 500 W. Seventh St., Bloomington, IN
Luke Gillespie, professor of music in jazz studies at the IU Jacobs School of Music, was the presenter at Fairview. Luke presented "Blues Basics - Learning from the Masters: Songs in Parallel Thirds and Sixths." He used Thelonious Monk’s “Blue Monk” and other tunes to explore the structure of a blues tune, the sound and fundamentals of the triad bass, use of parallel 3rds and 6ths in melody and harmony in the right hand, use of riffs, and bass variations. The workshop, supported by the Bloomington Arts Commission, Brown County Community Foundation, Inc., and Indiana Arts Commission, which receives support from the State of Indiana and the National Endowment for the Arts, was for all levels of piano enthusiasts and limited to 20 people. Preregistration was required.
To prepare:
--Listen to Jimmy Yancey's "Jimmy's Stuff"
--Listen to Thelonious Monk’s “Blue Monk”
- PIANO WORKSHOP - Monday, Aug. 15, 2022, 4:30 p.m., Templeton Elementary School, 1400 S. Brenda Ave., Bloomington, IN
Note: Cass Hart was unable to be in Bloomington due to a death in her family. Stephanie Trick & Paolo Alderighi presented "Boogie Woogie: An Exploration" in which they led participants on a journey that revealed distinctive features and patterns which give boogie-woogie its propulsive drive. The workshop, supported by the Bloomington Arts Commission, Brown County Community Foundation, Inc., and Indiana Arts Commission which receives support from the State of Indiana and the National Endowment for the Arts, was limited to 20 people, and preregistration was required.
To prepare:
--Watch Albert Ammons and Pete Johnson play in the short film, "Boogie Woogie Dream"
--Listen to Meade Lux Lewis play "Honky Tonk Train Blues"
--Visit Colin Davey's website to learn about or purchase the book, Learn Boogie Woogie Piano
--Also recommended by Cass Hart: The Story of Boogie-Woogie: A Left Hand Like God, by Peter J. Silvester
- MUSIC WORKSHOP - Monday, Aug. 15, 3:15 p.m., Tri-North Middle School Auditorium, 1000 W. 15th St., Bloomington, IN
Daryl Davis presented “Boogie-Woogie in Early Rock & Roll."
The workshop, supported by the Bloomington Arts Commission, Brown County Community Foundation, Inc., and Indiana Arts Commission, which receives support from the State of Indiana and the National Endowment for the Arts, was open to all levels of musicians and the public, and preregistration was required.
- MUSIC WORKSHOP - Monday, Aug. 15, 2022, 5 p.m., Jackson Creek Middle School Auditorium, 3980 S. Sare Rd., Bloomington, IN
Vibraphonist Lolly Allen led a workshop for all levels of musicians, "Playing Jazz & Blues in Ensembles," focusing on how to approach soloing, using "So What" and one of her original compositions, "Coming Home." The workshop was supported by the Bloomington Arts Commission, Brown County Community Foundation, Inc., and Indiana Arts Commission, which receives support from the State of Indiana and the National Endowment for the Arts. It was limited to 30 people, and preregistration was required.
To prepare:
--Listen to "So What" from the Miles Davis recording, Kind of Blue
--Listen to "Coming Home" by Lolly Allen, from her album, Coming Home; download sheet music for "Coming Home"
--Listen to "Bags Groove" by Milt Jackson
Participants and observers at Judy Carmichael's 2019 Master Classes on Stride Piano at the Monroe County History Center.