Let's Talk About Music Lecture Series

Stephen Foster, Lecturer

Mr. Stephen Foster has dedicated his 29-year music career to the enhancement and development of children and adults in the cultural arts. He is the 1995 founder/director of the Mid City Music Workshop and the 1975 founder/director of the Children's Academy of Music. He is a composer, an arranger, an educator, a lecturer, a band leader, an organizer, an arts program director, a community volunteer, a musician, a father and a husband.

Mr. Foster was born and raised in New Orleans. He attended Green Junior High School and graduated from St. Augustine High School. He did post graduate work at Loyola in Music Therapy. He graduated from the University of Arkansas with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Music Education.

Mr. Foster has received numerous awards, including the WDSU Channel 6 "Making a Difference Award", the 1999 Trailblazer of the Year Award sponsored by the Entergy Corp. and Data News Weekly, the Positive Men and Women Award 2000 and several Certificates of Recognition from the Mayor's Office, the New Orleans City Council and most recently the Lincoln Center (New York) Essentially Ellington Competition Achievement Award. The Times Picayune Newspaper described Mr. Foster as a hero to New Orleans youths.

"I believe that by keeping the cultural arts alive we keep our future alive" Mr. Stephen Foster

About the Lecture/Performance

Stephen Foster will demonstrate and compare different forms of music such as Jazz, Blues, Gospel and Hip Hop

The objective of this Lecture/Performance is designed to

• To enlighten students to new technology in the area of music
• To discuss innovators who are responsible for the evolution of various forms of 21st Century Music
• To give student volunteers a chance to participate by creating lyrics and presenting them in blues style.
• To introduce forms of 21st century music not commonly heard by the general population