Jazz at UofSC presents Jazz Girls Day
Jazz at UofSC presents its inaugural Jazz Girls Day, Jan. 15, 2022, at the School of Music from 9 a.m.–5 p.m.
Jazz Girls Day invites and inspires middle and high school girls from South Carolina to join the Jazz Faculty at the School of Music for a day of masterclasses, connection, concert and jam session.
The idea behind Jazz Girls Day is to welcome girls to start or continue playing jazz and to encourage South Carolina music educators to encourage girls to play jazz, and it’s goal is to help girls around the state prepare for all-state jazz auditions—although this is not a requirement to attend.
This program is for all instrumentalists and vocalists (traditional AND non-traditional) at all levels. The only prerequisites are middle and high school students who identify as female. Accompanying adults are welcome as well.
“It’s really exciting for us at UofSC Jazz to launch what will become an annual Jazz Girls Day,” said Dr. Colleen Clark, a drummer and newly-hired assistant professor of Jazz at UofSC. “It will better prepare and provide opportunities for grade-school students to have fulfilling and inspiring experiences in jazz.”
A recently published study assessed the rate of women bandleaders and women led ensembles that made the 2019 NPR Music Jazz critics poll. From this study, only 16% of band personnel in the 2019 critics poll were made up of women. In turn, the majority of ranked jazz records did not employ women. This is something that can be addressed in the early stages of musical development, henceforth making Jazz Girls Day a necessity.
For more information, contact Clark at colleenbclark@sc.edu.
Schedule
- Meet and Greet with School of Music Jazz Faculty, current students (that will co-teach throughout the day)
- Breakout sessions:
- Preparing Your All-State Audition Repertoire
- Improvising the Blues
- Lunch
- Concert: UofSC Jazz Faculty featuring Lauren Meccia & Colleen Clark
- Jam Session with all participants, faculty member and UofSC Jazz Students
Registration
- Jazz Girls Day is a free event. Registration is required.
- Early bird registration perk before Jan. 10, 2022: UOFSC SOM/JAZZ Merchandise
- Register online for the first annual Jazz Girls Day.
Takeaways
- Resources made specifically for Jazz Girls Day
- Connection and mentorship with the UofSC Jazz community
JAZZ GIRLS DAY is partially funded by SPARK and UofSC Jazz Studies and is supported by the Jazz Education Network and the Jazz Education Network’s South Carolina Chapter.
The UofSC Jazz Faculty includes:
- Matthew White, Associate Professor of Jazz Trumpet/Director of Jazz Studies
- Craig Butterfield, Professor of Double Bass and Jazz Studies/Co-Director of Jazz Studies
- Colleen Clark, Assistant Professor of Jazz/Drumset
- Lauren Meccia, Lecturer of Jazz/Saxophone & Voice
- Michael Wilkinson, Assistant Professor Trombone and Jazz
- Bert Ligon, Distinguished Professor Emeritus, Jazz Studies