Elementary students give hundreds of “thumbs-ups” to jazz artist Aaron Diehl (center) at Thomasville Center for the Arts.

More than 200 local elementary students had the opportunity to learn from noted jazz pianist and composer Aaron Diehl, who was in town as part of Thomasville Entertainment Foundation’s 2019-20 performance series.

On Wednesday morning following Diehl’s March 10 TEF performance, students from Thomasville City Schools gathered in the auditorium of the Thomasville Center for the Arts for an educational outreach program with the classically trained pianist and graduate of the Juilliard School.

Made possible through TEF’s Education Fund, the outreach and enrichment activity gave the mostly fourth and fifth graders a chance to hear Diehl not only play selected works from various jazz periods and composers, but also to learn about what makes a piece of music jazz, the origins and evolution of jazz as a musical genre and its legacy and importance in the realm of American music.

The 34-year-old Diehl even took inspiration and input from the students, using it to compose and play a new jazz work on the spot.

A former music director for Jazz at Lincoln Center’s New Orleans Songbook Series, Diehl began studying the piano at the age of seven and, at age 17, captured the attention of Wynton Marsalis who invited the young virtuoso to tour Europe with the Wynton Marsalis Septet. Diehl is considered a major force in jazz performance and composition, having been a staple of the New York jazz scene since 2007.

“An important segment of TEF’s mission is to cultivate the future of performing arts, and providing educational outreach activities and exposing young people to the magic of live performance is a significant part of that effort,” explained Rick Ivey, TEF’s executive and artistic director.  “We so appreciate Aaron, during his brief Thomasville stay, for spending some time with local students to extend the impact of his performance deeper into the community.” 

Several middle and high school students were also able to attend the Tuesday evening performance by taking advantage of TEF’s Tickets for Teens program, which provides a limited number of complimentary student tickets for each season concert.  The Tickets for Teens program is funded in part by a grant from Thomasville Antiques Show Foundation, with additional support from TEF’s Education Fund made possible by a generous anonymous gift to, Ivey added.