Name a Seat stories: LIVERPOOLJAZZ

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LIVERPOOLJAZZ event in the Leggate Theatre
LIVERPOOLJAZZ and Institute of Popular Music concert at the University of Liverpool’s Leggate Theatre

Set to open late 2021, the University of Liverpool’s new Yoko Ono Lennon Centre will not only provide unique opportunities for professional development for music students, but will also provide the Liverpool City Region with a new cultural landmark. As part of the Centre, alumni and friends of the University are invited to name a seat in the 400-seat Tung Auditorium, and the University is delighted to have received support from several local corporate supporters. We are pleased to share the story behind LIVERPOOLJAZZ who have chosen to name a seat within the Centre.

LIVERPOOLJAZZ is a non-profit organisation which was founded in 2004 by retired local businessmen Michael Swerdlow and Victor Greenberg to raise the profile of live jazz performance on Merseyside. Since launching the business, Michael and Victor have advocated local jazz musicians by assisting the promotion of jazz festivals and concerts in the region, encouraging and supporting pieces of educational work and establishing a website and listings guide.

Michael at LIVERPOOLJAZZ said: “Among the organisations and individuals we have befriended in the music community is the Institute of Popular Music at the University of Liverpool, for whom we devised, presented and sponsored a sell-out jazz concert. The concert took place at the University’s Leggate Theatre performed by local jazz musicians and a vocalist, with the aim of publicising the activity of the Institute of Popular Music”.

It was because of the connection to the Institute of Popular Music at the University that LIVERPOOLJAZZ chose to support the new Yoko Ono Lennon Centre by naming a seat within the Tung Auditorium. Michael said: “We thought this was an ideal way of maintaining our link with the University as well as supporting the exciting new performance venue in the city. Hopefully the centre will inspire musicians and lovers of music of all ages who will want to perform or visit and enjoy music and maintain Liverpool’s reputation as a centre of musical innovation.”

Thanks to the generosity of supporters like LIVERPOOLJAZZ, the University is closer to reaching its fundraising target for the new Yoko Ono Lennon Centre with just £900,000 left to raise. If you would like to find out more about how your company can be part of the Centre by naming a seat, please click here or if you would like to discuss supporting the Centre in another way please email: giving@liverpool.ac.uk.

To find out more about LIVERPOOLJAZZ and their work, please visit their website. Additionally, alumni and friends of the University are welcome to listen to LIVERPOOLJAZZ’s regular radio programme broadcast on 106.7fm from the studios of Liverpool Community Radio or on demand by podcast: www.spreaker.com/user/liverpooljazz.