Dr. Roosevelt Griffin, L, and Don Stinson, R.
I got to sit down with one of my favorite people - Roosevelt Griffin. On this episode, Roosevelt talks about growing up in and teaching in low-income areas, strategies for reaching and advocating for students in your programs, tips and techniques for jazz programs, and his path to starting a community center, the Griffin Institute.
FULL BIO from www.rooseveltgriffin.com and www.thegriffininstitute.org:
Dr. Roosevelt Griffin III is the director of bands for Harvey School District 152 where he and his students have received international acclaim for excellence in music education. He manages music programs over seven locations with more than 250 students. He is also the elementary jazz band director for the Chicago Jazz Philharmonic; an instructor with Blues Kids of America, an interdisciplinary artist-in-residence program that helps students improve literacy through music; and the President/CEO of the Griffin Institute of Performing Arts.
Some of his most notable performances as an educator include performances at the Chicago Jazz Festival, Chicago Blues Festival, Buddy Guy’s Legends, Midwest International Band and Orchestra Clinics, Jazz Education Network’s International Conference, Auditorium Theater, ASCD International Conference, and the Chicago Jazz Showcase.
Before becoming a full-time teacher, Dr. Griffin worked with some of the world’s greatest musicians, including Luciano Pavarotti, Diana Ross, and Jimmy Heath. He is often invited to present at conferences and workshops for music education, including the Midwest International Band and Orchestra Clinics, The Jazz Institute of Chicago, The Jazz Educators Network, The Missouri Music Educators Association, Illinois Music Educators Association, The Chicago Jazz Philharmonic, Northern Illinois University, Columbia College, and Prairie State College. He and his students have also been featured in Downbeat and JazzEd magazines for obtaining an endorsement with Jody Jazz Mouthpieces. He recently co-authored the latest addition to GIA Publications TMTP series, “Teaching Music Through Performance: Beginning Jazz Ensembles”.
Dr. Griffin’s work has brought him several prestigious honors. The Recording Academy and the Grammy Foundation have most recently named him a Quarter-Finalist for the 2017 “Grammy Award for Music Educator”. In 2015, Dr. Griffin received the 2015 Most Outstanding Alumni Award from the Northern Illinois University Alumni Association as well as a Jefferson Award for excellence in teaching from the District 205 Ambassadors of the Jefferson Award Foundation. In 2014, He received the prestigious Golden Apple Award for excellence in teaching from the Golden Apple Foundation. Later that same year, his hometown of Harvey, Illinois, honored him by renaming his childhood street “Roosevelt Griffin III Avenue”.
Dr. Griffin earned a bachelor of music degree from NIU in 2001, master’s degree in school leadership from Concordia University in 2011, Doctorate in Organizational Leadership from Argosy University and currently holds the status of Scholar at Northwestern University.