Jazz
Jazz is an integral part of musical life at the Sunderman Conservatory. Each year, 18 to 22 students are selected via audition for the Jazz Ensemble. The ensemble studies myriad styles of jazz, encompassing swing, Latin, fusion, bop, and the Great American Songbook ... and experiences a vast range of performance and engagement opportunities.
Chris Brubeck Interview— Artist-in-residence — February 2013
Tours and Travel
- The Jazz Ensemble toured Europe numerous times during the past three decades; in 1993, 1997, 2002, 2008, 2011, and 2015 with performances at the Montreux, Vienné, Jazz a Juan, Istanbul, and North Sea Jazz Festivals as well as presenting concerts in Amsterdam, Paris, Bruges, Heidelberg, Athens, Istanbul, and Venice.
- The Ensemble has opened for Ray Brown and Phil Woods and performed with such world-renowned soloists as Paquito D’Rivera, the Boston Brass, Denis DiBlasio, Lew Soloff, Graham Breedlove, Lewis Nash, Carmen Bradford, Hector Martignon, and Delfeayo Marsalis. The GCJE is proud to have performed as part of Howard University's 2017 celebration of jazz. The Jazz Ensemble most recently performed as a featured group at the 2017 Mid-Atlantic Jazz Festival in Rockville, Maryland.
Public Service
- In 2009, jazz students joined a volunteer effort to help rebuild homes in St. Bernard Parish, LA, spending hands-on time making a difference while taking in the vibrant culture of New Orleans.
- Jazz ensemble members oftentimes serve as worship leaders in a local church committed to innovative music programming.
The Jazz Ensemble rehearses on Wednesday evenings from 7:30 — 9:30 pm; members also attend regular sectionals.
- View the Performance Calendar
- More Jazz Opportunities for Students
- Learn about Jazz Ensemble Auditions
Students with an interest in jazz can live in The Blue Note House, and/or join The Jazz Appreciation Society - an on-campus, student led organization that sponsors an annual swing dance and works to bring professional jazz artists to Gettysburg to perform. The Jazz Curriculum also includes a jazz combo (Dispatch), private improvisation lessons, and two jazz history courses. See Jazz Course Listing. Students may elect to earn the BA in Music with jazz emphasis
Jazz Dispatch focuses on small group jazz improvisation. Admission to the group is by audition. Meeting once a week for two hours, students spend the bulk of rehearsal time playing in a small group setting. Additional class time is spent studying the art of jazz improvisation. Students acquire a “tool-chest” of improvisatory techniques such as: vertical (harmonic) versus horizontal (scalar) approaches; functional analysis of the repertoire; jazz scales; polyrhythms, memorization, and group interaction.
Repertoire covers the gamut of musical types found in contemporary jazz, stressing the bebop language and the popular song form but also including modal, Latin, and free approaches and including students' own compositions. The group performs both on and off campus; recent performances include venues across the Northeast – including Philadelphia, Boston, New York City, and Baltimore.
The Jazz Ensemble was reborn in 1989 after an absence of five years. 16-19 students are selected by audition to study myriad styles of jazz encompassing swing, Latin, fusion, bop, and the American Songbook. The Jazz Ensemble has toured Europe numerous times during the past three decades; in 1993, 1997, 2002, 2008, 2011, and 2015 with performances at the Montreux, Vienné, Jazz a Juan, Istanbul, and North Sea Jazz Festivals as well as presenting concerts in Amsterdam, Paris, Bruges, Heidelberg, Athens, Istanbul, and Venice. The ensemble has now traveled over 10,000 miles and performed 30 concerts in Europe. The Ensemble has opened for Ray Brown and Phil Woods and performed with such world-renowned soloists as Paquito D’Rivera, the Boston Brass, Denis DiBlasio, Lew Soloff, Graham Breedlove, Lewis Nash, Carmen Bradford, Hector Martignon, and Delfeayo Marsalis. The GCJE is proud to have performed as part of Howard University’s 2017 celebration of jazz. The Jazz Ensemble most recently performed as a featured group at the 2017 Mid-Atlantic Jazz Festival in Rockville, Maryland.
Jazz has been an integral part of musical life on campus for three decades. Students with an interest in jazz can live in The Blue Note House and be a member of The Jazz Appreciation Society, sponsors of an annual swing dance and other jazz related activities.
A combo, Jazz Dispatch, private improvisation lessons, and two jazz history courses are also part of the jazz curriculum. Students may elect to earn a B.A. in Music degree and focus on jazz through carefully structured elective choices.
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