Westword: Visual and Performing Arts Campus Named for Charles Burrell
Posted on 03/15/2022

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Story excerpt:

"On November 16, the Aurora Public Schools Board of Education named its new arts magnet program in honor of the first Black musician to receive a permanent contract with the Denver Symphony. The Charles Burrell Visual and Performing Arts Campus will incorporate creative thinking into core K-12 curriculum and expand opportunities for arts education.

The board voted to approve the name after it was suggested by community members, according to the school's director, Jessica Brown, who is leading the design work. Charles 'Charlie' Burrell is known as 'the Jackie Robinson of music' for helping break the color barrier in classical music and music education. The 101-year-old joined the Denver Symphony in 1949; that organization is now known as the Colorado Symphony.

The Charles Burrell Visual and Performing Arts magnet will be located at Aurora Central High School and Peoria Elementary School and will open in the 2022-2023 school year for students in kindergarten through third grade and sixth- and ninth-graders. The school plans to add on a new grade each year, says Brown."

Category: Aurora Central,News Coverage