Below is information about a Grant Opportunity honoring IWBC Pioneer Laurie Frink:
The mission of the Laurie Frink Career Grant is to offer to a young brass player an opportunity for serious study or to undertake a creative project. Watching some of her students struggle with the financial burden was heartbreaking to Laurie. Whenever possible, she would put them on her own personal scholarship – free lessons. The goal is to be a grant of $10,000 awarded to an extraordinarily talented player every two years: a grant that would be life changing.
Eligibility is open to jazz brass players between the ages of 18-25 years (must be 25 or under as of May 1, 2022), who are currently not under professional management. Applicants need not be currently enrolled in an academic institution.
Laurie Frink (August 8, 1951, Pender, Nebraska – July 13, 2013, New York City) was an American jazz trumpeter who worked primarily in big band idioms.
Frink studied with Dennis Schneider in the late 1960’s and attended the University of Nebraska (1969-1972). She then moved to New York and began studying with Jimmy Maxwell (1972-1974) and Carmine Caruso. From 1978 to 1987 she played trumpet in the Mel Lewis Orchestra, and during the same period was a member of Gerry Mulligan’s concert band. She worked with George Russell in 1980 and with the bands of Benny Goodman (1986) and Buck Clayton (1988). She began playing in Bob Mintzer’s ensemble in 1984, playing with him through 1997. From 1992 she was a member of Maria Schneider’s orchestra. She taught extensively in New York, including at the Manhattan School of Music, the New School for Social Research, Westchester Conservatory, and SUNY-Purchase.
Later in her career she played with John Hollenbeck, Darcy James Argue, and Ryan Truesdell. With John McNeil, she published the trumpet instruction book Flexus: Trumpet Calisthenics for the Modern Improviser in 2003. She died of cancer of the bile duct in 2013 at the age of 61.
To learn more and apply visit : www.lauriefrink.com
