Carnegie Hall launches new, free program for high school jazz musicians

Carnegie Hall launches new, free program for high school jazz musicians

Audition deadline: February 1

High school jazz musicians (ages 16-19) are invited to audition for National Youth Orchestra Jazz, a new, free program created by Carnegie Hall. NYO Jazz will launch in the summer of 2018 and serve as a sister program to the National Youth Orchestra of the USA, which was started in 2013 and has toured Asia, Europe, and North and South America with major conductors and soloists.

NYO Jazz is an ensemble of about 25 musicians who will come together for two weeks of training with an outstanding faculty, make a debut at Carnegie Hall on the stage on Stern Auditorium, and then travel to Europe — all-expenses-paid — to visit several of the most prestigious festivals in the UK, Holland, and Germany.

Trumpeter and educator Sean Jones has agreed to be the inaugural artistic advisor for NYO Jazz. He will lead the band and be a featured soloist, joined by other special guests, for the Carnegie Hall concert and tour. NYO Jazz will be in residence at Purchase College, SUNY, just outside of New York City, from July 14-28, 2018, and then on tour through August 10, 2018. The stellar faculty working with the students at Purchase will include Obed Calvaire (drums), Gerald Clayton (piano), Etienne Charles (trumpet), Wycliffe Gordon (trombone),  Mimi Jones (bass), Erica von Kleist (saxophone), Matthew Stevens (guitar), and Reggie Thomas (ensemble coach).

The audition process is entirely online, and details are available on the Carnegie Hall’s website. The application deadline is February 1, 2018, but students should allow plenty of time to prepare and record their audition.

Via: Carnegie Hall