--This year’s event celebrates the 50th anniversary of the University’s acclaimed Jazz Studies Program
Alumnus James Terrile ‘87, partner, Capital Group; Grammy Award-nominated jazz bassist Rufus Reid, former director of William Paterson University’s Jazz Studies Program; late WP Professor Emeritus Martin Krivin, founder of the Jazz Studies Program; and New Jersey public radio station WBGO, which champions jazz to a worldwide audience, will be honored as the William Paterson University Foundation hosts its 32nd Annual Legacy Award Gala on Thursday, April 20, 2023 at The Grove in Cedar Grove.
Terrile will be honored as Distinguished Alumnus, Reid will receive the Distinguished Faculty/Staff Award, Krivin will receive the Distinguished Service Award, posthumously, and WBGO will be honored as Distinguished Organization. The awards recognize individuals and organizations that demonstrate leadership in the community and are dedicated to the success of students at William Paterson University. This year’s event celebrates the 50th anniversary of William Paterson University’s internationally acclaimed Jazz Studies Program, which was founded in 1973. The evening will include special performances by the WP Jazz Orchestra and special guests including honoree Rufus Reid and Grammy Award-winning pianist Bill Charlap. current director of the Jazz Studies Program.
The Legacy Award Gala is the Foundation’s largest event to raise funds to support the University’s mission of promoting student success and academic excellence through student scholarships. All proceeds from the Gala directly fund academic scholarships at William Paterson University, thereby directly affecting the lives of students—most of whom rely on scholarships to complete their education.
“Jazz Studies is a signature program at William Paterson and has produced many talented musicians and educators while enriching the cultural life of our campus,” says President Richard J. Helldobler, “so I am thrilled that we are able to mark this milestone anniversary by honoring some of the many great people and organizations who have been a part of its success. The Legacy Award Gala is a wonderful opportunity to honor those who have had such a great impact on the University and our local community while celebrating and supporting the next generation of William Paterson students.”
“We’re grateful for the opportunity to celebrate this milestone 50th anniversary of our Jazz Studies Program and to highlight our loyal and supportive alumni, friends, faculty, and community partners,” says Pamela Ferguson, president of the William Paterson University Foundation and vice president for institutional advancement. “On behalf of the entire University community, I thank them for their partnership, leadership, and friendship — and for supporting our students.”
Terrile is an equity portfolio manager at Capital Group. He has nearly three decades of experience, including 25 years at Capital Group. Prior to joining Capital in 1996, Terrile was an equity research analyst for Gabelli Asset Management Company in New York. A native of Ridgefield, New Jersey, Terrile is a graduate of William Paterson with a bachelor of music degree in jazz studies and performance, magna cum laude. While at the University, he studied under renowned bassist Rufus Reid, retired director of jazz studies, who became a mentor and friend. He has been a long-time supporter of WP’s Jazz Studies Program, including the University’s Living Jazz Archives, a significant collection of materials that document the legacy of some of jazz’s greatest legends. In addition, in 2011, he established the Rufus Reid Endowed Music Scholarship Fund in honor of his friend, and through his support and matching gifts from Capital Group, the endowment has grown to more than $320,000. In addition to his degree from William Paterson, Terrile holds an MBA from Columbia Business School with Beta Gamma Sigma distinction. He and his family live in Los Angeles.
A widely respected bassist, composer, and jazz educator, Reid has had an active presence in the jazz world since the 1970s. From 1979 to 1999, he served as William Paterson University’s director of jazz studies, bringing international acclaim to one of the country’s first bachelor of music programs in jazz. He has recorded more than 500 albums, including 25 under his own name, including his 2022 CD Celebration, which features the Rufus Reid Trio with the Sirius Quartet, a classical string quartet. As a composer, Reid has written for strings, chamber ensembles, solo bass, jazz ensembles of varying sizes, and symphony orchestras, and has received the prestigious John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Fellowship for Composition and two MacDowell Colony Grants, among others. His 2014 release, Quiet Pride – The Elizabeth Catlett Project, received two Grammy Award nominations, for “Best Large Jazz Ensemble” and “Best Instrumental Composition.” Reid’s book, The Evolving Bassist, in publication since 1974, remains the industry standard for double bass methodology. In addition to performing and composing, he continues to teach, conducting master classes, workshops, and residencies around the world. Reid is a graduate of Northwestern University with a bachelor of music degree in performance. Reid is a resident of Teaneck.
Krivin, a clarinetist, joined the William Paterson faculty in 1960. Six years later, he organized the first student jazz ensemble on campus, which marked the beginning of what would become the University’s internationally known Jazz Studies Program. In 1973, Krivin hired the great jazz trumpet player Thad Jones for the full-time faculty, and William Paterson became the first college or university to bring a major jazz performer onto the tenured faculty, now the model for numerous other schools. Krivin, who served as coordinator of jazz studies, also founded the Jazz Room Series in 1978, now in its 45th season and the longest-running program of its kind in the United States. He was also instrumental in establishing a weeklong summer jazz festival which evolved into the Summer Jazz Room, celebrating its 30th anniversary in 2023. In addition, Krivin served as artistic advisor and executive director of the Wayne Chamber Orchestra, which was in residence on campus. He was the project director of an innovative grant-funded two-year jazz residency project, “The Jazz Journey of Benny Golson,” and received numerous grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, the New Jersey State Council for the Arts, and the Passaic County Cultural and Heritage Council. He retired in 1992. A graduate of Indiana State University in Pennsylvania, Krivin earned a master’s degree in education from New York University and a doctorate in music from Iowa State University. He died in 2011 at the age of 81. His legacy lives on at William Paterson through the Martin and JoAnn Krivin Endowed Scholarship, established in 2013 through the efforts of Martin Krivin’s late nephew, Roger Staum, and his wife Paulette Staum.
WBGO 88.3 FM/Newark Public Radio is a non-profit, publicly funded arts and cultural institution, dedicated to the curation, presentation, and preservation of music created out of the African American experience. The station was the brainchild of an urban think tank whose members came together in Newark in the 1970s to effect change after the uprising of 1967. Marshalling an extraordinary group of city activists, and with the help of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, they established the first public radio station in New Jersey in 1979. The station affiliated with National Public Radio (NPR) and went to a 24-hour broadcast day in 1980. Today, WBGO's broadcast signal is heard by listeners in the New York and New Jersey metro area on 88.3FM and globally via WBGO.org, the WBGO app, and multiple streaming services. Listeners from around the world enjoy the weekday programs, Rhythm & Song weekends, plus podcasts and video from WBGO Studios. The station’s 44-year relationship with WP’s Jazz Studies Program dates to the 1980s, when it was invited to record performances in Shea Center on campus for presentations on the NPR series, The American Jazz Radio Festival (AJRF), and has included numerous other recordings through the years. In addition, WBGO’s celebrations of April as Jazz Appreciation Month have featured numerous performances and interviews with WP jazz students and faculty, including current Jazz Studies Program director Bill Charlap, and Jazz Studies Program coordinator David Demsey.
Tickets for the gala begin at $500; tables of 10 can be purchased for $5,000 and $10,000.
For ticket reservations, contact the office for special events at 973-720-2478 or visit wpunj.edu/legacy. Discounted tickets for current William Paterson faculty and staff members are available by selecting the faculty and staff ticket option.
William Paterson University
300 Pompton Road
Wayne, New Jersey 07470
973-720-2000
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