Jazz Workshop is designed for participants aged 11 – 17, playing jazz at beginning to intermediate levels. Each one week workshop is open to players of all instruments. Jazz Workshop immerses participants in a focused, supportive environment and provides an opportunity to study and play with other young players with an outstanding faculty of professional musicians and top educators. Daily topics include theory, musicianship, jazz history, jazz ensemble playing, performance and group lessons. Participants develop skills useful in many musical genres, such as Rock, Blues, Swing, Latin, and Funk.
Week-long workshops are a great place to learn jazz through hands-on experience and creative teaching. Students may have little or no experience improvising or playing jazz in a small combos, but must have a basic proficiency on their instrument. Interested students may have some experience improvising in pop, rock, or blues styles, and some familiarity with the blues form, but these are not requirements for admission. Call the studio for more details.
The week-long workshop will end with a performance at the Pulaski Park Gazebo in downtown Easthampton. These free lunchtime concerts will be open to the public and will feature both student and faculty ensembles.
Band Leader:
Mr. Brooks Holmes is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts with a Master's Degree in Music Education and Trumpet Performance. He is the band director at Michael E. Smith Middle School in South Hadley where he directs Concert and Jazz Bands for Grades 4-8. Previously, he was Band Director at Easthampton Public Schools where under his direction, ensembles performed at Boston Symphony Hall, Tanglewood's Ozawa Hall, New York City's Statue of Liberty and countless community venues within Easthampton and Northampton. He has written and implemented a new curriculum for instrumental music grades 4-12 that combines the State and National Standards for Arts Education. Mr. Holmes is highly regarded for his expertise within music technology and its' applications for teaching instrumental music. He is the Business and Artistic Coordinator of the Holmes Studio of Dance & Music on Parsons Street in Easthampton. As 2nd Trumpeter for the New England Brass Quartet, he has performed in over 300 performances throughout New England in the past fifteen years. Mr. Holmes was also an adjunct faculty member of Bay Path College, where he taught courses in History of Western Music and History of American Jazz.
http://bholmes.classdrive.net
http://bandshack.com/newenglandbrassquartet/
