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A Special Thank you to the following organizations for supporting Litchfield Jazz Camper need-based scholarships

The Billy Strayhorn Foundation

The Billy Strayhorn Foundation, Inc. (BSF) exists to celebrate the music and life of composer, arranger, pianist Billy Strayhorn. … -Creating educational materials on issue surrounding the capture, preservation, management and broadening of the musical legacy of Billy Strayhorn. The Billy Strayhorn Foundation has been providing scholarship support for Litchfield Jazz Campers for the past several years, and have visited for special presentations for all campers.

The Jean and Julien Levy Foundation for the Arts

Julien Levy (1906–1981) was an art dealer and owner of Julien Levy Gallery in New York City, important as a venue for Surrealists, avante-garde artists, and American photographers in the 1930s and 1940s. The Jean and Julien Levy Foundation for the Arts has provided scholarship support for Litchfield Jazz Campers for several years, and have already provided funding for 2022.

The Les Paul Foundation

The Les Paul Foundation inspires innovative and creative thinking by sharing the legacy of Les Paul through support of music education, recording, innovation and medical research related to hearing. For many years, The Les Paul Foundation has honoring the legacy of Les Paul by supporting scholarships and special programming at Litchfield Jazz Camp each year.

Shea Cohn Memorial Fund – Kids of Summer

Shea Donald Cohn was an ambitious, curious, and innovative young man of many talents. He was known for his athletic, musical, and intellectual capabilities. He was even often nicknamed “The Piano Man” for his incredible piano-playing skills. This also applied to the many other instruments he regularly picked up and taught himself how to play. Although these capabilities were typically put to productive use, Shea also was incredibly curious and even, at times, mischievous. He could often be found at the top of a tree, swinging from the drapes, or doing flips as he skied down a mountain. With all of these adventures, Shea often collected different interesting items he found along the way. Much of the time, these items were small stones.

Shea was a passenger in a motor vehicle accident on March 27th of 2020, and passed away in the early hours of Sunday, March 29th, 2020. Although he lived a short 16 years, his time was full of adventure and curiosity that we’ll forever hold onto.

To honor Shea and the life he gave us, we created “Shea Stones” as a way to spread a little bit of Shea everywhere we go. To honor his passion for music and adventure, we started the “Shea Cohn Memorial Fund” to provide scholarships to aspiring young musicians and travelers.

Shea was also an organ donor, and was able to save seven lives. The information for the lives he touched can be found at this link: https://caringconnectionsneds.org/memorialize/create-online-tribute/

The goal of Shea Stones and the Shea Cohn Memorial Fund will allow him to continue to touch the lives of others all over the world.

The Shea Cohn Memorial Fund is managed by Kids Of Summer, a scholarship fund designed to

help kids attend summer programs. Litchfield Jazz Campers are fortunate to have been recipients of this support.

The Hartford Foundation for Public Giving – Zayas Law Foundation for Arts & Education

The Zayas Law Fund for Arts and Education will support youth activities involving the visual and performing arts, including innovation in the creative and cultural sectors.

The fund will focus on youth from greater Hartford, Bridgeport and New Haven. Zayas Law Firm founder Richard Zayas created the fund based on his own interest in the arts…

“We are inspired by the opportunities and joy that music and art education and experiences provide to all young musicians and artists, their families and their communities,” said Zayas. “We are grateful for the opportunity to partner with the Hartford Foundation as we seek to support youth in their pursuit of art and music education and experiences by eliminating financial barriers that may exist.”