Jazz Seminar

Dates and Staff | Teacher Application | Student Application

 

The Jazz Festival is a 5-day activity for 30 musically talented students who are interested in jazz and wish to showcase those talents by practicing and performing with one of the worldÕs great jazz musicians and educators. The objectives of this activity are to provide a forum for talented students to improve their skills by working on challenging music with other talented students, as well as preparing for and presenting two formal, high quality concerts for the host community.

An additional objective is to foster a greater appreciation for jazz music with the hope that greater emphasis will be placed on the instruction of jazz at the local school level. The activity is held in a variety of locations across the DoDDS-Europe area. A staff composed of a Music Director, guest conductor, and three music teachers organize and conduct this activity. In October the schools are sent student application forms. The students file a written and tasped music application along with a teacher recommendation. In November, the Jazz Seminar staff meet to review the applications. Using a strict set of criteria, the selections for the Jazz Festival are made to include 28 instrumentalists and 2 vocalists. There are over 70 auditions submitted for 30 slots to this activity. The students are billeted in a hotel and bussed to the school for rehearsals. Evening activities are taken up by rehearsals with the students usually working until 9:00 P.M. These rehearsals and the final concerts are under the direction of the guest conductor Dr. Jiggs Whigham, noted jazz musician, conductor, and educator. Two concerts on the last day are presented at the local schools and are open to the general public. The students usually present 8-10 musical numbers with at least one number incorporating a solo by the guest conductor. A banquet is held the evening before the concerts when the award for the best jazz student is made. A videotape of the festival activities is made available to the students as well as a CD of the concert. Most of the costs for this activity are covered by DoDDS-Europe. The students pay about 200 EUR, which covers their hotels, meals, banquet, a CD and Video of the concert, and gifts.

Event Dates

Board of Directors

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Teacher Application

Teachers may apply to be a member of the Board of Directors, conductors, or fesitival assistants. Applications must be received in the DoDDS-Europe Office by May 21, 2002. Teacher Application

Student Audtion Material

Student audition materials will be announce in October 2002