Treble in the Crescent City: New Orleans Jazz Scene, 1897
Welcome to the Crescent City! Nowhere else will you find a bustling town cradled by the Mississippi, where rhyme and reason have no place next to rhythm and blues. If you find yourself at the intersection of Basin and Canal Street, the lunar glow just might illuminate Storyville’s waxing underground jazz scene. A cacophony of trumpets, trombones, and saxophones invites you to pick up an instrument of your own and play the night away. This committee will have delegates take on the roles of instrumental civil servants and jazz musicians as they shape the emergent ragtime culture in “The District” of resilient and proud New Orleans. While delegates may have opportunities to form bands and earn prime-time spots in clubs tucked away for those “in-the-know,” they are, at the end of the night, simply civilians trying to make ends meet. Beware the troubles that lurk in the light, for injustice and prejudice fail to cower yet in the shadow of the new moon. You will need courage to succeed on stage and on the streets. And before you set foot into the club, always remember: “If you have to ask what jazz is, you’ll never know.” – Louis Armstrong
Aoife Stapleton
Crisis Director
Aoife is a fourth-year at UChicago majoring in Economics with a minor in Mathematics, and the amount of coffee needed to make this possible is actually insane. She grew up just outside of San Francisco so you will often hear her hating on California, but she will also vehemently defend the greatest state the moment someone insults it.
In years of ChoMUN past, Aoife has served as an Under-Secretary-General for ChoMUN XXVII, as a Crisis Director for “Coup Could’ve Seen This Coming” in the Federal Senate of Brazil in ChoMUN XXVI, and as an Assistant Chair for SimCity: Lagos during ChoMUN XXV.
If you’re looking for her, Aoife can usually be found in a coffee shop going by any imaginable variation of Eva/Ava/etc., playing the saxophone wishing she could sound more like Dexter Gordon, or annoying people with her horrible puns. Aoife is beyond excited to channel her nerdy passion for jazz into something more productive than Spotify deep dives, and she cannot wait to explore the growth of New Orleans as an epicenter for economic and social activity at the turn of the twentieth century.
Though you may be faced with her horrible sense of humor, Aoife is always available at anstapleton@uchicago.edu. if you have any questions about committee, jazz, or one of the hundreds of coffee shops she has visited around Chicago.
Charlie Ortega Martinez
CRISIS DIRECTOR
Charlie is a fourth-year student at the University of Chicago pursuing a double major in Economics and Public Policy. He was born and raised in Phoenix, Arizona, which means he resents the phrase, “Yeah, but it’s only a dry heat!”
Previously, Charlie served as an Under-Secretary-General for ChoMUN XXVII, as a Crisis Director for Emperor Menelik II’s Cabinet during ChoMUN XXVI, and as an Assistant Chair for the Cabinet of Queen Zenobia during ChoMUN XXV.
In his free time, Charlie enjoys finding new music to listen to while he brushes up on his knowledge of political philosophy (aka rewatching “Envy” by ContraPoints). Currently, his favorite albums include Preacher’s Daughter by Ethel Cain and The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess by Chappell Roan. While perhaps not considered jazz, Charlie is still extremely excited to run this committee and explore the rhythm by which the New Orleans underground jazz scene came to break the rules of music and the chains of injustice.
If you have any questions or concerns (jazz or otherwise), please feel free to reach Charlie at cortegamartinez@uchicago.edu.
Secretariat oversight:
Fawwaz Hafizh, Under-secretary-general