For five days in January, Wayne State University jazz students shared a stage with Grammy-winning artist Danilo Perez and a host of other world-class musicians at the 2016 Panama Jazz Festival. The trip, an international exchange organized by WSU Director of Jazz Studies Chris Collins, culminated with 10 Wayne State students playing as part of the Pan-American Detroit Big Band in front of 15,000 jazz fans from around the world.

“Performing with a legendary jazz artist like Danilo Perez was an inspiring experience for me,” said Nate Winn, drummer and a Wayne State senior. “The entire week in Panama — holding educational workshops and playing new works with so many talented musicians — opened up my mind to bigger possibilities once I graduate from Wayne State.”

“In my 25 years of teaching jazz studies, I have never seen such artistic achievement by a group of students,” commented Collins. “Our students served as phenomenal ambassadors of Wayne State University. Their talent, energy and passion for teaching and learning during this trip made students from South America and Latin America stop and say, ‘I want to come to Wayne State.’” 

The international exposure for Winn and his peers paved the way for exciting opportunities in the United States and around the world. Winn was personally invited by Perez, the artistic director at the elite Berklee Global Jazz Institute, to apply for graduate school at Berklee. He plans on moving with his wife to Boston this fall to pursue the opportunity. 

Daniel Meinecke, a WSU graduate student and pianist, was the embodiment of the Panama Jazz Festival’s educational component. He wrote the big band arrangement for a soulful new composition, “Black is Beautiful,” co-authored by Panama’s Danilo Perez and Puerto Rico’s Danny Rivera. The piece was performed by the Pan-American Detroit Big Band, conducted by Collins on the final night of the festival. 

Perez, a native of Panama, was so impressed by Meinecke that he helped facilitate a yearlong internship for him in Panama that will begin this summer. In addition to teaching jazz, Meinecke will also perform throughout the country. 

“The opportunity to work with professionals at the highest level in Panama was a beautiful experience for me,” said Meinecke. “I look forward to going back and spending more time learning and teaching.”

Collins, who is also the director of the Detroit Jazz Festival, created this opportunity for his students nearly three years ago when he invited Perez to be the artist in residence at the Detroit Jazz Festival. 

“Through camaraderie, artistry and international collaboration, this festival demonstrates the powerful music and meaningful relationships that can be generated when we open our hearts and minds to other cultures and ideas,” Collins said. “For me, this is one of the most rewarding parts of education—bringing the value of your professional endeavors and relationships to bear on the educational experience of your students.”