Jazz at the Peabody Conservatory

Peabody's Bachelor of Music Program in Jazz Performance is designed to equip the motivated student with the tools necessary to pursue a professional career in jazz and other related areas of contemporary music.

Distinctive in its focus on preparing students to become both creative musicians and skilled entrepreneurs, Peabody's jazz studies department cultivates a climate that demands adherence to the highest artistic standards. Through a core curriculum of multi-faceted studies, students hone their talents in a rigorous performance-oriented educational environment. The mission is to provide each student with a thorough technical, conceptual, and historical comprehension of jazz and its musical siblings.

Student involvement takes place in various settings:

• Weekly one-on-one tutorial instrumental study
• Improvisation study in small classroom workshops, both small and large ensemble configurations, classes in theory, ear-training, jazz keyboard skills, arranging and composition, history, and other related subjects
• Master class and lecture/performances featuring renowned artists who share their expertise on the art form and its continual technical and conceptual evolution.

At Peabody, aspiring musicians are presented with the unique opportunity to learn from educator/performers who have been identified as some of the major creative forces on the international music scene. The faculty, a virtual "Who's Who" in jazz, is dedicated to fostering the development of each student's individual talents and inclinations.

Peabody believes that it is of major significance for the student to have as instructors actual participants on the contemporary music scene. There is an added benefit for students when the information relayed to them is born of experience. Having first-hand knowledge of the requirements of professional music as a lifestyle, Peabody's faculty is qualified to provide interested students with tested specific, proven methods that have worked for many of our country's greatest contributors to the performing arts.

Baltimore has a long and rich history of jazz. Great jazz musicians from the early part of the 20th century closely associated with Baltimore include Cab Calloway, Eubie Blake, and Billie Holiday, among others. Baltimoreans of note from today's jazz scene include drummer Dennis Chambers, alto saxophonists Antonio Hart and Gary Bartz, bassist Donald Bailey, and pianist Albert Dailey. The Peabody program is designed to produce a new generation of jazz musicians.

Faculty

• Nasar Abadey
• Paul Bollenback
• Jay Clayton
• Michael Formanek
• Donvonté McCoy
• Timothy Murphy
• Gary Thomas, Director