The Preservation Hall Foundation and Loyola College of Music and Media are teaming up to present a half-day musical workshop dedicated to the women of jazz and their contributions to history and music. New Orleans’s first ever Girls Jazz Day workshop, a free event open to all girls aged 6 to 12, will take place on Oct. 5. 

To attend the event the young musician must identify as a girl and must have been playing an instrument for the minimum of one year. Workshop attendees are required to bring their own instruments, and once there, each musician will choose a jazz improv class based on interest and skill level. First, the instructors will play for the girls, and after this, the instructors will open a discussion about what it means to be a woman in the jazz field. World-class, Grammy-nominated violinist Sara Caswell will attend the event as one of the many workshop instructors.

This inaugural event will mark the first of future Girls Jazz Days, where the event will explore the intersections of International Jazz Day (April 30) and International Girls Day (Oct. 11). 

Registration for the event starts at 8:30 a.m. From 9 a.m. to 9:30 a.m., Grammy-nominated musician Sara Caswell will welcome the musicians attending the workshop, and following this welcome ceremony, jazz improv will take place until 11 a.m., when the musicians will break for snack time. From 11:15 a.m. to 12 p.m., the discussion panel, Women Running the Show, will speak with the workshop students. Following the discussion panel, the workshop will include a lunch break, two more jam sessions and a time for reflection.

The workshop will take place at Loyola University New Orleans, on the fourth floor of the Music and Communications Building, located at 6363 St. Charles Ave., on the corner of Calhoun and St. Charles. For more information about the workshop, visit the Loyola College of Music and Media’s website, here.