Naptown Jazz Kids offers education programs, community engagement and musical training for students of all ages. Internationally renowned jazz performers teach alongside professional staff, offering teens and adults a variety of creative programming that helps develop character, leadership, friendships and communities through jazz, America’s original art form.
Students of all ages may engage in Naptown Jazz Kids curriculum, which includes performance ensembles, classroom instruction and one-on-one private lessons. Naptown Lesson Academy provides fundamental, classical and jazz instruction to students based on their individual musical needs. Families will have the opportunity to choose between three to four different teachers for each instrument offered, providing jazz conservatory training for students ages 8 and up. Curriculum is tailored to each student’s skill level, and all instructors are vetted to Maryland Hall’s standards for its Teaching Artists.
Steve Fidyk is the Artistic Director and founder of Naptown Jazz Kids. As an educator, Steve is the Chairman of the Drum Set Department at The University of the Arts in Philadelphia, PA. He also serves as an Artist in Residence at Temple University, the University of Maryland, College Park, and as an educational consultant for Jazz at Lincoln Center's Essentially Ellington Program.
Chris Kaplan is Vice President of Naptown Jazz Kids. Chris is a senior associate instructional technologist for Diamond Information Systems and has been creating online learning experiences and learning for the real world for nearly 20 years.