HOT SPRINGS — The Tri-Lakes Edition coverage area’s most popular costume party is about more than celebrating Mardi Gras in flamboyant style. Proceeds from the party, hosted by the Hot Springs Jazz Society, help provide the resources needed to send music students from around the state to a summer jazz camp at the University of Arkansas at Monticello.
The Mardi Gras Costume Ball & Contest, the Jazz Society’s only fundraiser, will take place Feb. 25 at Hotel Hot Springs. The organization celebrates its 25th anniversary this year.
Prospective scholarship recipients are identified by their band directors and private music instructors, according to the Jazz Society’s website. The students are then chosen through an application process.
Mason Rhodes, 15, of Benton is one of last year’s scholarship recipients. He describes the experience as amazing.
“It was amazing, not only for me, but also my family. It was hard for us to be able to gather enough money for camps, so the scholarship not only took a burden off my family, but it also gave me an opportunity to further my musical career that I otherwise would have not received,” he said.
A sophomore at Benton High School, Rhodes grew up around music. About every one of his family members played some sort of instrument, he said. “Growing up in that environment inspired me to pursue a very similar passion.”
Rhodes specializes in playing drums and percussion. The jazz camp helped ignite in him a newfound passion for jazz, he said.
“It has opened up new opportunities for me to play, such as participating in the new jazz band at school.”
The program helped Rhodes realize that everyone has the potential to be great, he added. “You just have to be dedicated enough to work for it,” he said.
After high school, he plans to major in engineering and music at college.
“My dream is to play in a big band as a drummer one day,” Rhodes said.
Tyler Harrington, 16, of Prattsville has had music in his life for as long as he can remember, he said. The 11th-grader at Sheridan High School plays piano and percussion.
Like Rhodes, without the scholarship, Harrington wouldn’t have been able to attend the jazz camp, he said.
“The camp helped me improve my improvisation skills,” he said, “and I enjoyed learning about basic music theory.”
Harrington said he’s already writing songs and dreams of becoming a professional performer someday.
“I’d love to be in a band and also plan on having a business degree and possibly opening my own studio,” he said.
Founded in 1991, the Hot Springs Jazz Society seeks to preserve jazz music. Organizers knew that if the art form was going to be preserved, youth had to become involved, said Sharon Chauvin, one of the founders and current board president.
“We developed the scholarship award, sending qualified students to the Drury campus summer jazz camp in Missouri,” she said. “Then when the University of Arkansas at Monticello opened up its jazz camp, we utilized that opportunity.
“We know that by exposing our young students to the art form, it provides a conduit for the continuation of the jazz art form. The double benefit is that this jazz music education enhances the students’ musical skills in whatever genre they play.”
The Mardi Gras ball, the Jazz Society’s only fundraiser, also helps fund the organization’s various programs. Free concerts are held throughout the year, including Jazz in the Streets during the annual Hot Springs JazzFest that takes place Labor Day weekend.
The Mardi Gras Costume Ball & Contest includes live entertainment from two bands: Dixieland with the Spa City Stompers, and the Dizzy Seven. Hotel Hot Springs is offering special rates for ball attendees. Cash prizes will be given to costume winners. Tickets to the event are $60 each at hsjazzsociety.org, or for more information, call (501) 627-2425 or email hsjazzsociety@gmail.com.