Paul Klemperer explains the inspiration behind Creative SEA…

I’ve performed professionally for over 40 years, mainly in popular music styles such as jazz, blues, soul, salsa and world music. I’ve taught private lessons and group classes, working with elementary, high school and college students, and retired seniors as well. In all of these contexts I apply the philosophy that “music is for everyone.” My specialty is an adaptive pedagogical approach, blending western classical, jazz, and world music learning techniques. My goal is always to help students express themselves through music; this is a dialectical and nuanced experience because we are all unique in the way we learn. That’s what makes it fun.

My business model evolved over the past 20 years to include event production and working with various nonprofits and cultural organizations to create multi-media projects. My brand is “Building Community Through Music.” This helped me link my various projects, which include music performances, classes and workshops, songwriting and recording, fiction and essays, podcasting, and more.

A good example is my monthly Community Jazz Jam, which began in 2011 (with a hiatus 2020-2022 due to Covid). The CJJ invites musicians of all levels, styles and ages to participate. I purposely bring together professional musicians, students, and amateurs to explore all aspects of the expansive jazz tradition, which includes spoken word, dancing, and audience sing along, not just modern jazz improvisation. It’s a beautiful shared experience, and truly represents building community through music.
The Community Jazz Jam and other community projects are now sponsored by my nonprofit CreativeSEA.org, which focuses on multicultural and multigenerational activities. We are seeking funding to expand our programming to include multi-media activities such as songwriting, poetry and fiction workshops, live music and yoga classes, and more. The mission is “creative social engagement through the arts.”

I’ve had some successes in creating public projects, working with a team to achieve something I couldn’t do on my own. But it has never been easy, and I’m still struggling to create a template, a system, which works and is sustainable. I’ve had some insights along the way, and one of them is that “the team is the project.” If the particular creative project is clearly defined and if the people who agree to work on it clearly understand what their stake in it is, how it benefits them, the project is more likely to be successful.

I’m now exploring how to make my events more creative on all levels, so that the production of the event (making the sausage, as they say) is as much a creative act of social engagement as the performance/event itself. This also helps me balance my personal creative approach with my role as team leader. I believe this is important for Creative SEA as it finds its place in the Austin community. We want creative expression to be an integral part of participation, whether it’s performance, planning, marketing, community outreach or any other aspect of our work.