Scott Cvelbar is an eighth-grade U.S. History teacher who has been establishing a blues culture in his community through the Blues Project, a Blues in the Schools program at Benjamin Franklin Middle School in Valparaiso, Indiana. The Blues Project is a six-week education program that employs music instruction, history, and public performance. At the end of the program, students showcase their skills at a community-wide concert, performing alongside their peers, community members, and professional musicians. Since 2007 more than 1,000 students ages 9 to 18 have passed through the project, learning about the music, personalities, geography, and cultural significance of the blues. Because there is no blues club within a 40-mile radius, Cvelbar’s Blues Project is the heartbeat of blues culture in northwestern Indiana.
