The VJC’s educational program continues to develop as a means to engage people of all ages in the joyful appreciation of jazz. This year’s season begins on February 2nd and includes exiting new classes and new instructors that introduce a broader pallet of options.
In addition to our regular class offerings we will be bringing Peter Eldridge to the Jazz Center for a one day master class workshop. He is a founding member of the Grammy winning New York Voices and part of the jazz voice faculty at the Manhattan School of Music. The class is: Developing Your Individual Voice Through Song Interpretation.
A new class will be offered- a Women's Vocal Jazz Ensemble as well as the ongoing ensembles with the music of Miles Davis as the basic repertoire. For those interested in developing their improvisational skills, the Jazz Center this year is offering an applied jazz theory class at BUHS.
The Jazz Center encourages younger students, particularly middle-school age youth to join an ensemble where they can play music with their friends and develop their musical skills.
Musicologist, Julian Gerstin, will offer a class tailored to musicians (especially drummers) who aspire to learn and implement authentic Latin rhythms.
The VJC welcomes back master musician, Dave Shapiro, who has performed with Woody Herman and Chet Baker. Shapiro will present a retrospective of the history of jazz replete with personal stories, videos and sound-recordings.
As always, individual instruction is the cornerstone of music education and the VJC offers private classes for a wide selection of instruments. This year’s faculty includes Scott Mullett, wind instruments; Steve Sonntag, trumpet; Draa Hobbs, guitar; Eugene Uman, piano; Samirah Evans, voice, Jamie MacDonald, bass and Claire Arenius, drums.
For further information, such as class times and cost, please call the Jazz Center at 802 254 9088. Windham County residents may be eligible for scholarship assistance thanks to a generous grant from the Thompson Trust.
