Message from the President

Welcome to the Jazzschool Institute!

The Jazzschool Institute is a music conservatory designed to equip you with the artistic and academic skills you’ll need to succeed as a professional in the jazz field. Offering a Bachelor of Music degree in Jazz Studies, the Jazzschool Institute nurtures the aspiring professional jazz musician pursuing a career or higher degree in one or a combination of the following areas of specialization including but not limited to performance, composition, education, musicology, technology, and/or arts administration.

The Jazz Studies curriculum comprises an exciting range of artistic and academic courses that together will enable you to realize your professional objectives. Above all, you’ll have the opportunity to learn from and play with a resident faculty of preeminent artists and educators. Our close proximity to the Bay Area’s foremost jazz and performing arts venues also affords our program year-round access to visiting artists and educators from around the world.

Performance is at the center of the Jazz Studies major at the Jazzschool Institute. In addition to taking a wide range of performance ensembles and classes, you will have numerous opportunities to perform publicly all year round — from concerts at the Jazzschool, Yoshi’s and The Freight & Salvage, to local jazz festivals and other special events.

Rounding out the Jazz Studies degree, you’ll take classes in musicianship, applied lessons, jazz theory and improvisation, harmony, jazz composition and arranging, music history, music technology, the business of music and general studies, developing skills critical to your success as a professional in jazz. For those of you who are interested in pursuing a career in the recording arts, our alliance with the world-renowned recording facility Fantasy Studios provides us with access to state-of-the-art technological innovation and serves as an invaluable educational resource. Elective course options provide you with the flexibility to focus on your preferred area of specialization.

Finally, I am proud to announce that this past fall, the Jazzschool Institute reached an important benchmark: we graduated our first class on December 21, 2012! Congratulations to all of our graduates for their hard work and commitment to artistic and academic excellence throughout their tenure in the Jazz Studies program. We wish our alumni every success in their endeavors ahead and look forward to celebrating the graduating class of 2013 this coming spring!

On behalf of the Jazzschool Board of Directors, I invite you to enjoy your educational experience at the Jazzschool Institute and take advantage of the many opportunities designed to promote your growth and development as a professional in the multidimensional realm of jazz.

Susan Muscarella
President and Dean of Instruction