BATAVIA – A rare chance to enjoy New Orleans jazz on the grounds of a storied home will be Sept. 18 at the privately owned Frank Lloyd Wright house on Route 31 in Batavia.

The event – complete with appetizers, cocktails, tours of the home’s interior and artists showing their work – has been created to support the local arts community.

“The Wright Sounds” benefit is the brainchild of Batavia Arts Council member Irene Anderson, who approached the home’s owners, Laura and Peter Frost, about the project.

“We’re happy to contribute,” said Laura Frost, who talked about living in Wright’s Prairie School structure for the past four years. “It is part of the artistic heritage of Batavia. It’s fantastic to live in a piece of art. Everywhere you look, I’m always struck by how the light comes in.”

And it’s Anderson’s husband, Dan, a noted tuba and double bass artist, who is volunteering his time to arrange for the authentic musical treat. He’ll perform on tuba, along with fellow musicians on trombone, trumpet, clarinet and banjo, calling themselves the Orleans Parish Ramblers for the special afternoon.

They’ll even include a “second line” parade, the typical New Orleans funeral march that starts out somberly and turns celebratory. Anderson has performed around the world in both the classical and jazz realms, appearing with such groups as the Chicago Jazz Ensemble and Ray Charles Orchestra. A tent will offer seating for the entertainment.

“This will be something different from anywhere else – to combine the history of Frank Lloyd Wright architecture with jazz with art,” arts council President Julane Sullivan said, noting the party will be limited to 150 guests. “It will be a very intimate feeling.”

A trolley will carry guests from the ample parking lot at the landmark Campana building to the Wright house, which was commissioned by Mrs. A.W. Gridley in 1906. Arts council volunteers will lead tours of the home.

Helping support the event are several restaurants. Guests will be treated to appetizers, including New Orleans jambalaya from The Patten House in Geneva, as well as dishes from Aliano’s Italian Restaurant in Batavia and Gia Mia in Geneva. Limestone Coffee & Tea in Batavia will provide baked goods. And Fox River Distilling Company in Geneva will create a signature cocktail in keeping with the theme.

Sullivan said Aliano’s is donating wines for a wine-pull fundraiser during the afternoon.

Both the Batavia Arts Council and Water Street Studios will benefit from the event. Artists ranging from a jeweler to a glass worker, painters, a photographer and a watercolorist will display their work on the grounds of the Wright home.

Encouraging the arts in all arenas is at the heart of “The Wright Sounds” benefit.

Water Street Studios Executive Director Danielle Hollis said the event dovetails with one of her biggest goals: to connect art lovers to the artists themselves.

She said some of the artists are nationally or internationally renowned, and the nonprofit is happy to help facilitate the process and encourage the commissioning of special pieces for people’s homes.

At the party, the Batavia Arts Council will award its fourth year of grants.

Sullivan said the amount offered organizations and artists has doubled each year from $500 at the start to $4,000 this time around.

Previous recipients include Batavia High School’s art department, which received funds toward buying a machine that reclaims clay and saves the school hundreds of dollars annually. The equipment also is shared with the middle school. A gift to the Batavia Artists Association resulted in a student-created mosaic that graces the entry of H.C. Storm Elementary School.

Grants also have supported the Fox Valley Orchestra’s “Sing-Along Messiah”; the choral ensemble Acapellago’s performance of a newly commissioned composition; Water Street Studios’ print shop; and the purchase of a new light console by Albright Theatre Co., Batavia’s community troupe.

If you go

What: “The Wright Sounds” fundraiser

When: Trolley runs 3:30 to 6:30 p.m. Sept. 18

Where: 637 Batavia Ave. (Route 31), Batavia

Info: $75 tickets at bataviaartscouncil.org and All Dressed Up Costume Shop, 901 N. Batavia Ave. in Campana building; for details, call 630-418-8040