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In Lenox, Massachusetts, between 1951 and 1960 at a place called Music Inn, there was a turning point in the history of music in America.

Under the stewardship of Stephanie and Philip Barber Music Inn began with informal jazz and folk "Roundtables" and "Workshops" of scholars and critics, and culminated in the first School of Jazz -- where students learned from and performed with accomplished masters. Frequent participation of students and performers from nearby Tanglewood stimulated cross-fertilization between classical music and jazz. Music Inn was an undeniable force in the emergence of jazz from crowded urban clubs into concert halls. Louis Armstrong remarked in 1953, "They're doing wonderful things up there. They’re really helping make music history."

Noted participants at Music Inn included Dave Brubeck, Ornette Coleman, Dizzy Gillespie, Woody Guthrie, Geoffrey Holder, Langston Hughes, Mahalia Jackson, Tom Lehrer, John Lewis, Babatunde Olatunji, Oscar Peterson, Max Roach, George Russell, Gunther Schuller, Pete Seeger and Randy Weston. The list of performers of the Music Barn constituted a virtual who’s who of now world-renowned musicians.

In an era of anti-Communism, anti-“Other” fervor, Music Inn was a bold experiment. There, aspiring musicians learned from the very best. Students and faculty of all ages and walks of life came to learn and jam together. Students came from Africa, Austria, Sweden, Holland, India, Canada, Turkey and Brazil. Music Inn harbored a racial and cultural harmony that defied its surrounding environment and, for a brief time, music was all that mattered.

Projectile Arts intends to produce a feature length documentary to be distributed worldwide in all media. Proceeds from the distribution and sale of the documentary will go towards the establishment of a scholarship fund honoring Stephanie Barber and the Music Inn Legacy.