The New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music

Located in the heart of Greenwich Village, The New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music offers talented musicians an exceptional opportunity to train with professional artists from New York City's celebrated jazz community. The teaching model at the School is based on the tradition of artist as mentor and is implemented by accomplished career musicians with significant links to the history and evolution of jazz, blues, pop, and new genres. Students benefit from the expert training associated with a conservatory as well as the generative spirit and vigor of jazz that flows through the school. This environment extends past the walls of the school and into the streets and studios, clubs, and concert halls of New York City—one of the music capitals of the world.

Alumni of The New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music have become some of today’s top jazz stars and recording artists, including Roy Hargrove, Brad Mehldau, Marcus Strickland, Robert Glasper, and Greg Kurstin (of the bird and the bee). In the contemporary music realm, a number of current students and alumni perform with Grammy Award-winning bands and artists such as Diddy, Al Green, Beyoncé, Jay-Z, and James Taylor.

With a large percentage of the student body from outside the United States, The New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music is a truly multicultural universe. Bachelor of Fine Arts students do the core of their work in classrooms and in private studios with exceptional musician-educators, gaining direct exposure to modern music’s traditions and practices in an intellectual context that encourages both exploration and innovation.

No aspiring musician can expect to make it in this highly competitive industry without real-world performance experience. Students at The New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music have ample opportunities to perform at school and in professional venues with their peers, as well as with current stars of the jazz world. Indeed, many well-known alumni started their careers while they were undergraduates. Students perform each semester in a variety of ensembles and venues. Ensembles include the Thelonious Monk Ensemble, the Electric Miles Ensemble, Rhythm Section and Vocal accompaniment, the Charlie Parker Ensemble, the Afro–Cuban Jazz Orchestra, and the Art Blakey Ensemble.

The New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music is one of eight schools that make up The New School, a major urban university, and students can take advantage of everything the university has to offer. There are numerous opportunities for cross-registration, and students can enroll in everything from humanities courses at Eugene Lang College The New School for Liberal Arts to art and design courses at Parsons The New School for Design and classical music instruction at Mannes College The New School for Music. Students are encouraged to participate in artistic collaborations and performances with students from other schools.

Taking full advantage of the university setting, The New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music and Eugene Lang College The New School for Liberal Arts have structured a five-year dual-degree program in which students simultaneously complete a music B.F.A. and a liberal arts B.A. For more information, students should visit http://www.newschool.edu/babfa.

Location

New York City is one of the great capitals of the jazz world, and the school is located in one of the city’s most exciting neighborhoods—Greenwich Village—where the arts, politics, and commerce come together. Musical inspiration is everywhere in this fast-paced urban environment, from historic performance venues like the Village Vanguard or the Blue Note, to the city’s parks and even its subway stations. As one student put it, “There’s no place like New York City to study people and no place like Greenwich Village to study jazz.”

Program Facilities

The School’s 20,000-square-foot state-of-the-art facility on West 13th Street was designed specifically to help young artists realize their goal of becoming effective music professionals. The facility offers administrative, classroom, practice, and rehearsal space—all constructed with the highest quality and attention to acoustics, soundproofing, and aesthetics. All classrooms are fully dedicated with Yamaha grand pianos, drum kits, amplifiers, vocal PA systems, and full-component stereo systems. Specialized instrumental practice and teaching rooms are offered, as well as an MP3 listening library and keyboard/MIDI labs. Concert and recording needs are served in an intimate and beautiful performance space seating 120, with full capacity for professional sound, lighting, and recording. A second studio is used for additional recording and engineering, with both studios connected to the university’s server and Internet sites. Additional university performance facilities within a two-block radius include a 170-seat auditorium and an excellent and acoustically balanced concert hall with a capacity of 500.

Alumni

The New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music’s alumni include Lucien Ban, Miri Ben-Ari, Peter Bernstein, Walter Blanding Jr., Avashi Cohen, Jesse Davis, John Ellis, Rebecca Coupe Franks, Robert Glasper, Aaron Goldberg, Larry Goldings, Roy Hargrove, Susie Ibarra, Ali Jackson, Ori Kaplan, Greg Kurstin, Gregoire Maret, Virginia Mayhew, Carlos McKinney, Brad Mehldau, Shedrick Mitchell, Vickie Natale, Bilal Oliver, John Popper, Jaz Sawyer, Woody Shaw III, Alex Skolnick, E. J. Strickland, Marcus Strickland, Manuel Valera, and Sam Yahel.

Faculty

Faculty members at The New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music include Ahmed Abdullah, trumpet; Junko Arita, voice; Jane Ira Bloom, saxophone; Richard Boukas, guitar; Joanne Brackeen, piano; Cecil Bridgewater, trumpet; Brian Camelio, guitar; Jeff Carney, bass; Joe Chambers, drums; Haim Cotton, piano; Andrew Cyrille, drums; Gerard D’Angelo, piano; Armen Donelian, piano; Mario Escalera, woodwinds; Ray Gallon, piano; Hal Galper, piano; George Garzone, saxophone; Dave Glasser, saxophone; Dan Greenblatt, saxophone; Chico Hamilton, drums; Billy Harper, saxophone; Richard Harper, voice, trombone; Gerry Hemingway, percussion; Adam Holzman, keyboard; Satoshi Inoue, guitar; Vic Juris, guitar; Michael Karn, saxophone; Bill Kirchner, woodwinds; Janet Lawson, voice; Lee Ann Ledgerwood, piano; Elisabeth Lohninger, voice; Amy London, voice; David Lopato, piano; Arun Luthra, saxophone; Ed MacEachen, guitar; Junior Mance, piano; Andy McKee, bass; Andy Milne, piano; Kirk Nurock, piano; Jimmy Owens, trumpet; Charli Persip, drums; Ron Petrides, guitar; Benny Powell, trombone; Robert Sadin, composition; Bobby Sanabria, percussion; David Schnitter, saxophone; Kenneth Scott, voice; Harel Shachal, saxophones; Rich Shemaria, piano; Jim Snidero, saxophone; Joan Stiles, piano; Rory Stuart, guitar; Francesca Tanksley, piano; Charles Tolliver, trumpet; Johannes Wallmann, piano; Reggie Workman, bass; Peter Zak, piano; and Amir Ziv, drums

Special Programs

Throughout the school year, The New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music offers master classes, lectures, performances, and workshops featuring top artists and industry leaders. Recent guests include Barry Harris, Pat Metheny, Roy Hargrove, Christian McBride, Steffon Harris, Bob Hurwitz, and Arturo O'Farril. Faculty members, students, and affiliated artists appear weekly on stages and in clubs throughout the city and the greater metropolitan area. Performances presented by the School include more than 150 student recitals and concerts each year, weekly professional sessions at the legendary Sweet Rhythm jazz club, and a series of concerts showcasing faculty members with alumni or current students. Students have also appeared at a number of high-visibility venues, including Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola, and performed live at radio stations WBGO and WBAI. Students have access to an outreach office providing professional industry internships and a gig office that links students to professional performance opportunities.

Application Procedures

Deadline--freshmen and transfers: January 1. Notification date--freshmen and transfers: April 1. Required: high school transcript, college transcript(s) for transfer students, minimum 2.0 high school GPA, letter of recommendation, audition, TOEFL score for international applicants, personal statement. Auditions held 15 times on campus and off campus in selected high schools; recorded music is permissible as a substitute for live auditions when distance is prohibitive.