Bio
Jazz: Te Kōkī New Zealand School of Music at Victoria University of Wellington. Jazz Performance and Composition are rigorous programmes of practical and academic work that provide students with the skills they need to speak the language of jazz and begin to seek out a unique and creative voice. Jazz graduates perform at a high standard and demonstrate an understanding of the historical, stylistic and social contexts of jazz. Jazz Performance and Composition students work with an instrumental teacher on a weekly basis, and are expected to devote a large proportion of their time to individual practice. The programme includes studies in group performance: combo, big band and jazz choir. Core jazz studies also include classes in improvisation, jazz theory, jazz history and jazz composition/arranging. Teachers include highly respected jazz musicians who perform regularly throughout New Zealand and abroad. Workshops are also run by major visiting artists to share their experience of the international jazz scene. Recent guest artists include: Alex Sipiagin, Dick Oatts, Bob Mintzer, Bob Sheppard, Eric Marienthal, Clay Jenkins, Luis Bonilla, John Fedchock, The Yellowjackets, Tom Warrington, and Allen Vizzutti. Students majoring in jazz are encouraged to incorporate papers from other music and non-music programmes into their course of study. Jazz combines well with the study of 20th Century music, film music, and other musicological subjects. Jazz performance provides a pathway to study at postgraduate level, where more focus is given to the development of an individual voice. While the traditional pathway through BMus(Hons)/MMus/PhD remains available, a more focussed pathway for performers and composers through PGDipMus/MMA/DMA will also be offered from 2010. Students continue to receive weekly lessons and to play in combo, but emphasis is also placed on research and critical analysis, which can lead to more informed self-expression. In true jazz style, it’s by listening to and thinking about music as well as playing it that we can develop our own sound.