Jazzing it up

A little plug for my alma mater.

KRTU knows how to throw a public party.

The Trinity University radio station kicked off a yearlong celebration of the arts in general and jazz in particular Sunday afternoon and evening at the Sunken Garden Theater.

Designed to commemorate the beginning of the station’s 10th year of airing a jazz-driven format, the multimedia event was called “Sunday in Brackenridge Park: Jazz Family Showcase.” It featured dancers, drummers, actors, singers, Mayor Julián Castro reading to kids, the San Antonio Symphony and the premiere of the “San Antonio Jazz Suite,” commissioned by KRTU and written by KRTU disc jockey/pianist Aaron Prado.

“I think it’s great to get this kind of community involvement,” said Barbara Hill, director of programs at the Southwest School of Art, one of 20 nonprofit organizations that have teamed with KRTU for the “Year of Jazz.” “It’s great that we can bring awareness to each other.”

When I was a student, KRTU played mostly vanilla classical music during the day, and switched to jazz at night, which was largely DJ-driven and thus pretty eclectic. The switch to all jazz has been a huge success, with an increase in listeners and greater involvement in the community. It helps that Trinity has a full-fledged communications department, but it’s still a student-run station. Well done, y’all.

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