copyright Ontario Band Association 2010

• HTML |
• CSS |
• website design by Juliana Yuen

• Conducting Symposium Home |
• Photos |
• OBA Home

Jazz Symposium

Saturday, October 15th
The MacMillan Theatre, University of Toronto Faculty of Music, Edward Johnson Building
80 Queen's Park, Toronto, M5S 2C5
9:00AM - 4:30PM

Featuring: Clinician Wayne Bergeron
Chase Sanborn, Terry Promane, Cathy Mitro & U of T Jazz Ensemble

Download the OBA Jazz Symposium Brochure

Directions to University of Toronto

Symposium Schedule

• Registration:
  • 9:00 a.m.
  • MacMillan Theatre Foyer (main floor)
• Sesson 1:
  • 9:30-10:30 a.m.
  • Improvising with Confidence
• Session 2:
  • 10:45-11.45 a.m.
  • Developing Your Horn Section / Reading Session
• Lunch Break:
  • 11:45 a.m.-12:45 p.m.
  • Enjoy lunch with colleagues at area resturants
• Long & McQuade Mini-store
  • 12:45-1:30 p.m.
• Session 3:
  • 1:30-2:30 p.m.
  • Question Period
• Session 4:
  • 2:45-3:45 p.m.
  • Developing the Rhythm Section
• Session 5:
  • 3:45-4:45 p.m
  • Make Jazz Accessible to all your Students Through your Daily Curriculum

Jazz Symposium Highlights / Why Attend?

• The opportunity to listen to the inspirational Wayne Bergeron
• Hearing from U of T and Humber College faculty members
• Working on various Jazz styles through sight reading and performance (bring your instrument)
• Mini-store from Long & McQuade
• The opportunity to learn, discuss and play with other jazz enthusiasts: clinicians, teachers and students

Please contact Allan Gaumond at allan.gaumond@hsc.on.ca for more information about the Symposium.

Feedback

2010 Jazz Symposium
Clinician: Mike Steinel

This year's OBA Jazz Symposium was an intimate and enjoyable experience all around. The highlight of this particular event was jazz trumpeter Mike Steinel, who currently teaches Jazz Studies at the University of North Texas. Steinel focused the morning sessions on teaching beginner jazz, a topic on which he has developed an entire methodology - he is the author of the Essential Elements for Jazz Ensemble series of method books. Although the sessions could easily have felt like a never-ending sales pitch for Hal Leonard, they were very much focused on the ideas and methods behind the exercises. Steinel takes an accurate and insightful "zoomed in" approach to teaching the beginnings of jazz style, improvisation, and sight reading - all of these involving a step-by-step approach with strong examples I wish I had been introduced to as a jazz student. Whether you bought the book or not, the clinic was helpful for teachers attempting to start their first jazz band, as well as experienced teachers and jazz musicians (who always need to be reminded about what it is like to be a true beginner again). I immediately used some of the ideas and concepts in my classroom the following week only to find great results, and cannot wait to test out more.

Complementing Steinel was some of the excellent jazz faculty from UofT: Terry Promane, Chase Sanborn, and Jim Lewis. These three exemplary jazz musicians and educators ran an open-forum workshop with one of the UofT jazz ensembles on "taming" the horn section. Although each of these men have been taming their instruments for years and had much to offer, they also invited the UofT students themselves to comment and give feedback about their experiences as young jazz musicians, a process that gave voice to our many students back at our own schools. The afternoon was completed by a top-notch performance by the same jazz ensemble, led by Jim Lewis, who performed some great selections from Count Basie to a modern Canadian jazz composition that showed off what a big band should really sound like. In more ways than one, it ended on a high note (forgive the inner English teacher in me).

All in all, the symposium was thorough and well-rounded in its content, highly productive, and entertaining throughout. A big "thank you" to the OBA for organizing the day, to the UofT faculty and students for giving up their Saturday for the benefit of teachers everywhere, and to Mike Steinel for the the long trip from Texas - it was well worth it for this attendee.

Jon Butash
Agincourt Collegiate Institute, Toronto

Clinician Mike Steinel - jazz trumpeter, pianist, composer, arranger, and presently Associate Professor of Jazz Studies at the University of North Texas
U of T Jazz Ensemble
Photos courtesy and copyright of Jim Rueckert

---

2009 Jazz Symposium
Clinicians: Terry Promane & Chase Sanborn

My colleague (and new OBA member, Andrew McMillen) and I attended the Ontario Band Association's first Jazz Symposium, featuring Chase Sanborn (trumpet virtuoso), Terry Promane (trombone virtuoso), and the University of Toronto's 10 'O Clock Jazz Orchestra and Rhythm Section - an excellent group of young performers. This event was sponsored and supported by Yamaha Music Company, Long and McQuade, and the University of Toronto.

In this symposium Chase and Terry covered the basics of creating a good rhythm section and the particular features of the role of each instrument (guitar, bass, drums, piano), beginning improvisation techniques, strategies for program selection, and guidelines for different stage band setups.

Just being there among other educators, musicians, and presenters was very inspiring and the number of resources available for purchase were an added bonus - e.g. Jazz Tactics, Brass Tactics, Tuning Tactics. You can check out Chase Sanborn's website (http://www.chasesanborn.com/) and U. of T. Jazz (http://www.uoftjazz.ca/) to get a taste of what an excellent day we had and what you missed. Awesome!

All in all, it was well worth the day spent enjoying great music and ideas.

Paul Mouradian
W.I. Dick Middle School

Clinician Chase Sanborn.	Clinician (and OBA member) Terry Promane.
Terry and Chase in a more serious moment.	Our newest OBA volunteer and symposium co-ordinator, Terry Anton.
Photos courtesy and copyright of Jim Rueckert