|
|
Bachelor Of Arts In Jazz Performance
(Closing Date For Applications - 21st April 2008)
An exciting alternative to the conventional music degree, directly geared toward the contemporary performing musician.
Newpark Music Centre is pleased to offer the Bachelor of Arts in Jazz Performance (BAJP). This is a non-classical undergraduate music performance degree and represents an exciting development in music education in Ireland. The BAJP is a Level 8 Honours Degree and is validated by HETAC, the Higher Education and Training Awards Council (www.hetac.ie)
The aim of the BAJP is to provide excellence in academic and professional career preparation for the challenges facing today's musician. The BAJP has been designed with a view to the provision of learning experiences that integrate performance, composition, musical literacy and music technology with individual creativity to prepare student musicians for careers as performers, composers, arrangers and teachers.
Newpark's Jazz Department is staffed by the finest jazz performers and teachers on the Irish jazz scene and is also an affiliate school of the renowned Berklee College of Music in Boston, the biggest music school in the world and a pioneer in jazz education techniques. Newpark is also a founder member of the International Association of Schools of Jazz, and these contacts allow Newpark to give BAJP students access to masterclasses by internationally recognized teachers and performers and exposure to the latest techniques in the study of jazz performance.
Course Director: Ronan Guilfoyle (www.ronanguilfoyle.com)
Application Form 2008
|
|
Bachelor Of Arts In Jazz Performance (BAJP)
The BAJP is a four year course designed to lead towards the acquisition of the skills necessary in the world of contemporary music performance. The course covers a wide range of musical techniques including performance, instrumental technique, improvisation, composition, computer music, aural training, arranging and pedagogical studies. The BAJP can be seen as being a liberal arts education in music, covering as it does so many different areas and giving the participants the skills necessary to operate in a wide area of contemporary music, not just jazz. All of the subjects in the course are geared towards training young musicians to the highest international standards and to be fully equipped to work in the world of contemporary music both here and abroad.
Preparation for life as a professional musician
The BAJP will focus on giving the students the practical skills they must acquire in order to function well in the professional milieu of contemporary jazz, and other musical situations. Due to its very broad nature, jazz is an ideal training for contemporary musicians and the course stresses the practical benefits to the students of the various techniques undertaken in the different parts of the programme.
Preparation for working in an international environment
Contemporary jazz musicians operate in an international environment, by necessity travelling widely to perform. The students on the programme will have access to the same kind of information and training that their contemporaries in other countries do, as they will inevitably be working in an international context. The course is designed to give students the type of training currently available in the best jazz schools in the US and the EU.
This will have the added benefit of preparing the students for Post-Graduate studies at schools and universities throughout the world, should they desire to avail of further education.
Structure of the Programme
As the title of the programme suggests, the BAJP focuses on performance, and has a high proportion of practically based classes designed to help the students become competent performing jazz musicians. The structure of the programme stresses ensemble work and gives the students ample opportunity to develop their performing skills in group contexts. The individual and group instrumental tuition is designed to support the ensemble playing of the students and to provide them with solutions to problems encountered in real-life playing situations.
Operating alongside this practical instrumental and ensemble training are the theoretical and aesthetic elements of the course. The theoretical modules are designed to give the students the necessary harmonic and aural training that are necessary to understand the playing techniques being dealt with in the ensemble classes, as well as giving them information they can use to further their artistic and musical development in the future. The aesthetic elements of the programme are designed to provide a context within which the students can better understand the professional world of contemporary jazz and their possible place in it, and also their place in society as a working musician.
Frequently Asked Questions
|
|
BAJP Course Outline
Some elements of the course are present in all four years, while others take place only in specific years. Ensemble classes and instrumental classes are present in the programme from beginning to end – this reflects the intention of the course to provide a practical education for the aspiring professional jazz musician. Other elements take place only in specific years.
The course is designed in a modular system, each module designed to help develop specific skills necessary for the contemporary musician. Here is brief description of each module:
Ensemble Studies
The aim of this module is to give the students the skills to perform in ensembles at a high professional level in the world of contemporary jazz. Through working in ensembles the students will be made aware of the techniques and traditions of jazz performance.
Arranging and Composition Studies
The aim of this module is to introduce the students to the skills necessary for modern jazz arranging, and to allow them to be conversant with the history, ethos and techniques of jazz composition. The students will also be introduced to the use of computers as an arranging and composing aid.
Contextual Studies
This module will help the student understand the history of the development of jazz, and its place in contemporary society. The module will also give the students an insight into the methodology and philosophy of teaching jazz. In addition to this, the module will aim to make the student aware of the history of western classical music, and of the music of various cultures throughout the world.
Instrumental Studies
The aim of this module is to provide the student with the instrumental and technical skills necessary in order to perform at a professional level in contemporary jazz. The student will be given information about on practice methods and goals, acquisition of vocabulary through the study of the master soloists, and stylistic interpretation.
Aural and Theoretical Studies
This module will give the students a thorough grounding in contemporary jazz harmony and theory, and give them the means to understand that the theoretical and harmonic underpinning of contemporary jazz practice. In addition the course will give the students the techniques to hear and identify all the common melodic, rhythmic and harmonic patterns used in jazz and other musics.
Application Form 2008
|
|
BAJP Year by Year
Each of the modules contains several different subjects and the student in the BAJP will cover many different musical areas in the course of the programme. Over the full four years the subjects covered in the BAJP will be as follows:
Year 1
Aural Training
Composition
Computer Music
Ensemble Performance
Instrumental Labs
Instrumental Skills and Approved Styles
Jazz and Contemporary Harmony
Piano Skills
Rhythm Studies
Year 2
Aural Training
Ensemble Performance
Instrumental Labs
Instrumental Skills and Approved Styles
Jazz Arranging
Jazz and Contemporary Harmony
Rhythm Studies
Transcription
Year 3
Aural Training
Composition
Ensemble Performance
Instrumental Labs
Instrumental Skills and Approved Styles
Jazz Arranging
Jazz History, Ethos, and Philosophy
Rhythm Studies
Transcription
Year 4
Approved Style Ensemble
Composition
Ensemble Performance
Instrumental Labs
Instrumental Skills and Approved Styles
Jazz Arranging
Jazz History, Ethos, and Philosophy
Jazz Pedagogy
Rhythm Studies
History of Western Music
Survey of World Music
Written Analysis Project
Frequently Asked Questions
|
|
Entry Requirements
All applicants must possess the Leaving Certificate Examination, with a minimum of two honours. However entry into the programme will be decided by performance audition. Since the course is of a very practical nature, applicants must demonstrate a degree of instrumental/vocal proficiency. The passing of the Leaving Cert music exam will be taken into consideration when assessing a candidate's suitability, as will the passing of classical music exams. However the performance audition will be necessary for all applicants, and will be the final determinant as to their suitability for the course. The audition panel will be drawn from teachers on the course.
Alternative Modes of Entry
Applicants from other countries, or those who are unable to be physically present during the audition period may apply by providing a recording of their playing, and demonstrate conclusive evidence of musical proficiency, preferably accompanied by evidence of past musical education. Such applicants must also hold the Leaving Certificate with two honours or an equivalent educational qualification.
Newpark is committed to giving wider access to jazz education, and will consider applications from working professionals in the jazz field who wish to enter the last two years of the programme and who demonstrate proficiency equivalent to the requirements for the first two years of the programme. Consideration will also be given to those who hold the Guildhall Diploma in Jazz (LGSM/AGSM) or equivalent, and who wish to add a Bachelor of Music degree in jazz to their qualifications. In all cases the applicants must audition and sit a proficiency test in theory and aural skills.
In exceptional cases, where an applicant demonstrates outstanding musical ability, but doesn't hold a Leaving Certificate or equivalent, it may be possible to waive the academic entry requirements. This will however only be considered in exceptional circumstances and a final decision must be approved by the full Course Board.
Application Form 2008
|
|
Further Information
Closing date for application: Monday 21st April 2008
Auditions: Saturday 26th and Sunday 27th April 2008 (Dates may be subject to change)
Course fee for academic year 2008-2009: €4150
Open day: Wednesday 5th March 2008. 10:30am-1:00pm All welcome.
Frequently Asked Questions
|
|
|
