Venue Information

Named for one of America’s greatest composers, the Duke Ellington School of the Arts developed and grew from the collaborative efforts of Peggy Cooper Cafritz and Mike Malone, founders of Workshops for Careers in the Arts in 1968. The initial move into the Georgetown location was in 1971, when it was still named Western High School.

In May 1974, in consortium with representatives of DC Public Schools and community groups, Workshops for Careers in the Arts proposed the establishment of a public high school for youth gifted in the fine and performing arts. It was then that the Board of Education approved the establishment of the School of the Arts at Western High School. In July 1976, the School of the Arts was officially renamed the “Duke Ellington School of the Arts,” in living tribute to Edward Kennedy “Duke” Ellington, the great jazz musician, composer, and native of Washington, DC. 

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