About the MCJO
The MasterClass Jazz Orchestra. Outstanding High School musicians and vocalists performing with professional musicians in a swingin' big band setting! By combining professional musicians with high school music students, The MasterClass Jazz Orchestra provides the region's best advanced jazz training and performance platforms for students looking to enhance their musical knowledge and accelerate their musical knowledge and music careers.
Imagine gigging with some of the region's top musicians...performing charts made famous by some of the great Big Bands and Vocalists of yesterday and today thrilling audiences of all ages in a variety of venues and settings. These are some of the exciting experiences available to selected high-school musicians who perform with The MasterClass Jazz Orchestra.
Led by seasoned professionals in the key horn chairs and rhythm section, MasterClass provides an excellent professional training, mentoring and performance platform for the young musical artist seeking to advance his/her musical knowledge and experience.
The Ensemble: outstanding student musicians and vocalists from area schools are invited to perform a minimum of six performances per season alongside professional trumpet, sax, trombone and rhythm section players. While the full band numbers nearly 20 players, trio, quartet and quintet combos are created from the ranks to showcase young talents and add variety to the shows.
The Repertoire: with a special consideration given to the musical tastes of its audience, the MasterClass Jazz Orchestra performs selections chosen from a large and varied library...tailoring the performance to fit the musical desires of any particular clientele. Currently, the MasterClass book includes charts from the Count Basie Orchestra catalog including arrangements by such notable masters as Nestico, Hefti, Riddle, Quincy Jones, and G.Goodwin plus vocal arrangements as recorded by such greats as Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Nat King Cole, Ella Fitgerald, Nancy Wilson as well as their contemporaries like Michael Buble, Diana Krall, Harry Connick Jr., Diane Shuur; Bobby Caldwell and others.
The Benefits: the MasterClass Jazz Orchestra provides a safe, secure and exciting foundation for the young musician to develop his/her own style. Students gain valuable advanced training in sight-reading skills, jazz phrasing within a section, soloing techniques, showmanship, professional conduct, teamwork and leadership skills. By working side-by-side with professionals, students are also shown professionalism in action. Studies have shown that students who participate in high quality music programs show significant achievements in math, science, language skills and overall spatial IQ over those in non-music programs (University of Kansas, 2004). By performing in the MasterClass Jazz Orchestra, students are given the encouragement and the opportunity to use their musical talents and abilities to benefit their community in an uplifting and encouraging way.
Imagine gigging with some of the region's top musicians...performing charts made famous by some of the great Big Bands and Vocalists of yesterday and today thrilling audiences of all ages in a variety of venues and settings. These are some of the exciting experiences available to selected high-school musicians who perform with The MasterClass Jazz Orchestra.
Led by seasoned professionals in the key horn chairs and rhythm section, MasterClass provides an excellent professional training, mentoring and performance platform for the young musical artist seeking to advance his/her musical knowledge and experience.
The Ensemble: outstanding student musicians and vocalists from area schools are invited to perform a minimum of six performances per season alongside professional trumpet, sax, trombone and rhythm section players. While the full band numbers nearly 20 players, trio, quartet and quintet combos are created from the ranks to showcase young talents and add variety to the shows.
The Repertoire: with a special consideration given to the musical tastes of its audience, the MasterClass Jazz Orchestra performs selections chosen from a large and varied library...tailoring the performance to fit the musical desires of any particular clientele. Currently, the MasterClass book includes charts from the Count Basie Orchestra catalog including arrangements by such notable masters as Nestico, Hefti, Riddle, Quincy Jones, and G.Goodwin plus vocal arrangements as recorded by such greats as Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Nat King Cole, Ella Fitgerald, Nancy Wilson as well as their contemporaries like Michael Buble, Diana Krall, Harry Connick Jr., Diane Shuur; Bobby Caldwell and others.
The Benefits: the MasterClass Jazz Orchestra provides a safe, secure and exciting foundation for the young musician to develop his/her own style. Students gain valuable advanced training in sight-reading skills, jazz phrasing within a section, soloing techniques, showmanship, professional conduct, teamwork and leadership skills. By working side-by-side with professionals, students are also shown professionalism in action. Studies have shown that students who participate in high quality music programs show significant achievements in math, science, language skills and overall spatial IQ over those in non-music programs (University of Kansas, 2004). By performing in the MasterClass Jazz Orchestra, students are given the encouragement and the opportunity to use their musical talents and abilities to benefit their community in an uplifting and encouraging way.