Vocal
Jazz Educators - College/University
Michigan
State University - East Lansing
Sunny
Wilkinson
Asst. Professor of
Vocal Jazz
Director, Vocal Jazz
Ensemble
College of Music
e-Mail:
wilkin68@msu.edu
Web Site:
http://www.sunnywilkinson.com/
Sunny Wilkinson teaches vocal jazz
studies at the MSU College of Music and since 2006 has directed the
vocal jazz ensemble. Wilkinson received her B.A. from Arizona
State University.
Sunny Wilkinson�s wide range, intonation, agility,
and passion for what
she sings make her a one-of-a-kind vocalist. She loves to toy
with rhythm and tonal color. She is past president of the
Michigan chapter of the International Association for Jazz Education
(IAJE); past chairperson for IAJE's Women's Caucus; and a co-founder of
the acclaimed Sisters in Jazz mentoring program, which promotes
participation of young women ages 15-25 in the art of jazz music and
has been implemented internationally through IAJE since 1996.
Her performance credits include singing with the Count Basie Band, Rob
McConnell and the Boss Brass, Kenny Wheeler, Mark Murphy, Milt Hinton,
Marvin Stamm, Bill Mays, Bill Watrous, Curtis Fuller, and Edgar
Winter. Wilkinson also performs regularly at jazz festivals and
clubs across the country.
Wilkinson's latest release is a big-band CD on Chartmaker Jazz, called
Sunny Wilkinson "High Wire." Her other CDs are "Alegria," on the
Hibrite Label, and "Sunny Wilkinson," on the Positive Music
Label. She recently signed a recording contract with the Chase
Music Group and will be releasing a new duo record in 2008, featuring
pianist Tom Garvin, entitled �A Gentle Time - When
Sunny Meets Tom.�
Ensembles: Vocal Jazz Ensemble
I, Vocal Jazz Ensemble II
The Vocal Jazz Ensemble I and Vocal Jazz
Ensemble II perform a wide variety of jazz, contemporary, and Brazilian
music and concentrate on the fundamentals of style combined with the
great tradition of choral techniques. Above all, swinging and
improvisation are at the heart of the MSU Vocal Jazz experience.
The ensembles feature arrangements of the Hi-Lo�s,
Lambert, Hendricks
and Ross, the Singers Unlimited, as well as charts written by
contemporary arrangers such as Jennifer Barnes, Jeremy Fox, Kerry
Marsh, Darmon Meader, and Michele Weir.
The Vocal Jazz Ensemble I requires a year-long commitment and rehearses
Monday-Thursday 11:30 a.m.-12:20 pm., plus weekly sectionals. The group
has 8-12 voices with accompanying rhythm section and performs 2-3 times
each semester, on- and off-campus. In the two years since its
inception, the Vocal Jazz Ensemble has performed with jazz greats Jon
Hendricks and Kevin Mahogany and has also been featured on WKAR 90.5 FM
public radio at MSU.
 Top
Western Michigan
University - Kalamazoo
Choral opportunities at Western Michigan University are wide ranging,
from the University Chorale and Collegiate Singers (conducted by Dr.
James Bass), Women's Chorus (conducted by Dr. Dee Gauthier), Collegium
Singers, and Grand Chorus (conducted by Dr. James Bass), to two vocal
jazz ensembles: Gold Company (directed by Dr. Stephen Zegree) and GC II
(directed by Michael Wheaton).
The Jazz Studies Program at WMU has gained international recognition
for its innovative approach to jazz education. The program offers
students a variety of experiences in award-winning ensembles.
These include big band jazz (University Jazz Orchestra, directed by Dr.
Scott Cowan; Jazz Lab Band led by Tom Knific) and vocal jazz (Gold
Company and GC II), as well as the opportunity to participate in a
variety of smaller instrumental and vocal combos. WMU students
have won more than 100 "DB" Student Music Awards from DownBeat magazine
in the categories of Vocal Jazz Choir, Jazz Big Band, Vocal and
Instrumental Soloists, Vocal and Instrumental Jazz Combos,
Blues/Pop/Rock Soloist and Group, Jazz Studio Orchestra, Classical
Chamber Group, Live and Studio Engineering, Jazz Arrangement, and
Composition. Recording studio opportunities are available through
the Western Sound Studios, a multi-track state-of-the-art facility
located on campus.
Steve Zegree
Director, Gold Company
Piano, Vocal Jazz, Jazz Theory, Arranging
School of Music
WMU Faculty Ensemble: Western Jazz Quartet, pianist
e-Mail: stephen.zegree@wmich.edu
Dr. Stephen Zegree is one of the most
respected vocal jazz educators in
the world. As Bobby McFerrin Professor of Jazz in the School of
Music at Western Michigan University, Dr. Zegree teaches classical and
jazz piano and directs Gold Company, Western Michigan
University�s
internationally regarded vocal jazz ensemble. In addition, he
performs as pianist in the Western Jazz Quartet,
WMU�s resident faculty
jazz ensemble.
Dr. Zegree�s choral arrangements are published by
Hal Leonard Music
Publications, Shawnee Press, and Warner Brothers Publications. He
is the author of �The Complete Guide To Teaching
Vocal Jazz�, published
by Heritage Music Press and he co-produced jazz vocalist Mark Murphy's
"Nat King Cole Songbook" which was nominated for a Grammy Award.
Dr. Zegree is in demand as a pianist, clinician, adjudicator and
conductor around the world. A renowned educator, his students are
among today�s leaders in jazz and pop performance,
Broadway, recording
studio production, writing, arranging, singing, and music education.
Ensemble: Gold Company
The Gold Company
vocal program is widely recognized as one of the most successful and
prestigious collegiate vocal jazz programs in the world. The
ensembles perform a wide variety of repertoire which covers all styles
in the contemporary vocal idiom. Gold Company combines the
fundamental musical elements from the traditional choral style with
stylistic characteristics from the jazz vernacular with an emphasis on
improvisation and swing.
To
date the group has recorded and released four CDs. Their latest,
Absolute Integrity, features 15 new and fresh Gold Company charts
(featuring performances by Gold Company and the Gold Company Sextet,
plus the Gold Company Band and the GC Horns) including new arrangements
and original compositions by Justin Avery and Matt Falker (Gold Company
alums), plus Gene Puerling, Michele Weir, Gary Fry, Roger Treece,
Nathan Lansing and Steve Zegree.
CDs:
Diana
Spradling
Director,
Applied Studio Technology Laboratory
Education
Speciality - Private Voice and Vocal Pedagogy
School
of Music
e-Mail:
diana.spradling@wmich.edu
Diana Spradling
teaches graduate and undergraduate Private Voice and Vocal Pedagogy at
Western Michigan University. Previously she directed the WMU
vocal ensemble GCII. She is also the founding Director of the
Applied Studio Technology Laboratory (ASTL), a state-of-the-art lab
that acoustically analyzes sound and measures vocal behaviors such as
vowel clarity, vibrato rate and width, presence and absence of legato,
onsets, releases, resonance, nasality and laryngeal freedom, but to
name a few.
Students
who have studied with her during the last decade include several
university appointed jazz voice professors, 6 Downbeat Award winners,
on and Off Broadway performers, members of national touring companies,
recording artists, club singers, studio musicians, jingle singers,
cabaret performers and a Grammy nominee.
Spradling
is co-founder of the International Association for Jazz Education's
Sisters in Jazz program, a mentoring program to encourage and promote
participation of young women between the ages of 15 and 25 in the art
of jazz music. She has also served three consecutive terms as the
National Chair for Jazz and Show Choirs for the American Choral
Directors Association.
Her
jazz vocal ensembles have appeared in performances at Music Educators
National Conference, the American Choral Directors Association and the
International Association for Jazz Education, and her groups have
shared the stage with many of America's leading jazz educators and
performing artists.
In
addition to appearing regularly as an adjudicator at festivals, as a
staff member at music camps throughout North America and as the
Executive Director and voice coach at the Steve Zegree Vocal Jazz Camp,
Spradling has just completed the writing of a book on jazz vocal
pedagogy based on three years of acoustic research of the first
generation of modern jazz artists from Frank Sinatra to Bobby McFerrin.
Michael
Wheaton
GC
II Director
School of Music
e-Mail:
michael.wheaton@wmich.edu
Ensemble:
GC II
An
SATB ensemble which specializes in vocal jazz. The varied repertoire
includes every style from jazz standards to Broadway to the hits of
today. Specialty acts and choreography are included. GC II participates
in major vocal jazz productions on campus in conjunction with Gold
Company.
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Grand
Rapids Community College - Grand Rapids
Duane
Shields Davis
Director,
Vocal Music
Department
of Performing Arts
Ph:
(616) 234-GRCC
e-Mail:
ddavis@grcc.edu
Duane Shields Davis
is the director of vocal music at Grand Rapids Community College.
He has also served as Chorus Master for Opera Grand Rapids since 1986.
Originally from Cleveland, Davis has taught in the Grand Rapids area
since 1969. Davis received his Bachelor's degree in music
education from Knoxville College (TN) and a Masters in choral
conducting from Kent State University (OH).
Davis
previously served as director for Gold Company at Western Michigan
University and as Dean of the Steve Zegree Vocal Jazz Camp at
WMU. In 2005 he was guest clinician in Riga, Latvia for the 5th
International Rhythmic Music Festival performing with the Rigas Ritmi
Choral. He was a presenter at the 7th World Symposium on Choral
Music (Kyoto, Japan), and the Tokyo Choral Directors Association.
Davis conducted the National Festival Chorus at Carnegie Hall as part
of the Carnegie Hall Master Works Series in 2006.
His
choirs have toured Japan and Europe and performed at famed New York
concert venues such as Carnegie Hall, Avery Fisher Hall, Alice Tully
Hall, and Town Hall. His compositions and arrangements have been
premiered by the Grand Rapids Symphony Orchestra and Gold Company at
Western Michigan University.
Davis
has earned numerous honors including a 2003 ARTS Award by the Arts
Council of Greater Grand Rapids, an Excellence in Education Award by
Grand Rapids Community College, and a Maynard Klein Award for Choral
Excellence by the American Choral Directors Association of Michigan.
Davis'
career travels also includes serving as guest director for the DODDS
Atlantic Choral Festival (London), and director of the Disney Grammy
All-American College Singers at Walt Disney World's EPCOT Center where
his singers performed with and opened for Rosemary Clooney, Maynard
Ferguson, Lionel Hampton, Eartha Kitt, Ramsey Lewis, Dianne Reeves,
Diane Schuur, Dr. Billy Taylor, and Joe Williams. Davis also
conducted the opening ceremonies for the Walt Disney World Animal
Kingdom.
Ensemble:
Shades of Blue
Shades of Blue is
recognized as one of the outstanding collegiate vocal jazz ensembles in
the country. The student group was established as a vocal jazz
ensemble in 1981 by Duane Davis, who has served as director since
1982. Many Shades alumni are active in music having made their
mark in vocal performance, teaching, and various Broadway stage
productions.
Shades
has opened for a host of major celebrities including the David
Letterman, Tony Bennett, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, and the late
John Houseman and Coretta Scott King. They participate in the
annual Western Michigan University Gold Company Vocal Invitational plus
many other music festivals. Past credits also include
performances at conventions for the International Association for Jazz
Education, American Choral Directors Association, the Midwest Music
Conference at the University of Michigan, and Musicfest Canada in
Vancouver, British Columbia.
The
group has earned major applause through stage time with singer Don
Shelton (of Singers Unlimited fame), and served as a clinic group for
Phil Mattson, Bob McGrath (of Sesame Street), Bobby McFerrin, and the
Grand Rapids Symphony Orchestra. Shades has also appeared at the
Tiffin University Vocal Jazz and Show Festival (Tiffin, OH), the
Collegiate Showcase (in Chicago, Nashville, and Orlando), and the
Northshore Vocal Jazz Invitational (Cleveland).
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Oakland
University - Rochester
John-Paul White
Professor of Music, Voice, Vocal Pedagogy, Voice Program Coordinator
e-mail: jpwhite@oakland.edu
ph: (248) 370-2040
Ensemble:
Oakland Jazz Singers
The Oakland Jazz
Singers were formed in 2003 amidst a diversification
plan for the music program while student participation evolved through
academicaly chiefly from vocal jazz improv classes. The
group features 8-12
singers depending on their interest in audition and presents an
inviting mix of soprano, alto, tenor, and bass. In performance
they are accompanied by their own trio or quartet. Students gain
entry by audition only. The ensemble's repertoire includes
standards but a primary focus are the newest and most exciting
contemporary vocal jazz arrangements of today.
The
Oakland Jazz Singers performed at the 2007 Michigan Music Conference
(Grand Rapids) as part of a major clinic Jordan conducted on vocal
jazz. Over the past few years performances have ranged from
campus to community outreach special events. The ensemble was
also a feature performer in the OU Department of Music, Theatre and
Dance Matilda Awards Ceremony.
The
Oakland Jazz Singers released its first CD in the fall of 2008.
Henry Ford Community
College - Dearborn
G. Kevin Dewey,
vocal music instructor
Fine Arts and Fitness Division
Ph: (313) 845-6470
e-Mail: rgoward@hfcc.edu
Vocal Ensemble: Blue Fusion,
Midnight Blue
Blue Fusion, G. Kevin Dewey, HFCC Vocal Music Instructor
Blue Fusion performs a variety of classic and contemporary vocal jazz,
featuring both "a cappella'' and accompanied
selections. Blue
Fusion traveled to Chicago in 2003 with Studio 110 and joined the HFCC
Big Band at the 2003 Ford Detroit International Jazz Festival.
The group consists of vocalists and instrumentalists.
Midnight Blue, G. Kevin Dewey, HFCC Vocal Music Instructor
Midnight Blue performs vocal jazz and joined with the HFCC Big Band in
January 2005 to perform for the Presidential Inaugural Ball in
Washington, D.C., and at the 2005 Ford Detroit International Jazz
Festival.
Hillsdale College -
Hillsdale
Chris McCourry,
director of jazz ensembles
Music Department - Fine Arts
Ph: 517-437-7341
e-Mail: cmccourry@hillsdale.edu
Vocal Ensemble: Vocal Jazz
Quartet
Lansing Community
College - Lansing
Humanities & Performing Arts Department
Bill Bastian, music
director
Ph: (517) 483-1018
e-Mail: bastianw@lcc.edu
Ensemble: LanSwingers
LanSwingers is a 7-12
mixed voice, elite vocal choir at Lansing Community College that
specializes in vocal jazz.
Bill Bastian is in his 4th year directing the student ensemble.
Michigan
Tech University - Houghton
Mike Irish, director of jazz studies
Department
of Fine Arts
Ph:
(906) 487-2145
e-Mail:
mjirish@mtu.edu
Ensemble:
Momentum
Momentum
is a dynamic blend of horns, vocal and rhythm section that regularly
competes in jazz festivals and has an active performance schedule.
Northwestern Michigan College - Traverse City
Mike Hunter, director of jazz studies
Department
of Humanities
Ph:
(800) 748-0566
Ph:
(231) 995-1135, 995-1325
e-Mail:
information@nmc.edu
Ensemble:
MNC Vocal Jazz Ensemble
Top
Vocal
Jazz Educators - High School
Detroit
School of Performing Arts
Cheryl
Valentine
19543
Whitcomb Ave
Detroit,
MI 48235
Ph:
(313) 342-5139
e-Mail:
zetamusic1@aol.com
Edward
Duke Ellington Conservatory-Music & Arts
Deblon
Jackson
209
West St 8030 E Outer Dr
Detroit,
MI 48213
Ph:
(313) 866-2860
Deblon
Jackson teaches music and concepts in jazz through a program
incorporating vocal and instrumental jazz. She leads the student
group Jazz Kids featuring spirited youngsters representing grades
5-8. Jackson also handles composing and arranging duties.
Jazz Kids has performed around the Detroit area, including the Detroit
International Jazz festival at Hart Plaza and various other community
special events. Aside from wearing a busy teacher's hat, Jackson
is an accomplished flutist in her own right.
Ensemble:
Jazz Kids
Forest
Hills Eastern High School
Emily
Warren
Grand
Rapids, MI 49525
e-Mail:
ewarren@fhps.us
Forest
Hills Eastern is only in its 4th year and vocal director Emily Warren
has spent the past two years developing a solid program. Ongoing
plans on the horizon include forming a separate vocal jazz
ensemble. Warren's main vocal ensemble performs two jazz pieces
at crosstown Forest Hills Northern's Vocal Jazz Invitational with
special guest educator Steve Zegree (Western Michigan University) in
the fall. This spring a much awaited visit from singer-educator
Sunny Wilkinson (Michigan State University) aims to elevate vocal jazz
pedagogy for all vocal students.
Forest
Hills Northern High School
Craig
York
3801
Leonard NE
Grand
Rapids, MI 49525
Ph:
(616) 493-8600
e-Mail:
cyork@fhps.us
Craig
York
Ensemble:
Northern Singers
The
Northern Singers is an eighteen-voice rhythm and vocal jazz ensemble
consisting of juniors and seniors. This audition-only choir is
one of four choirs at FHN, which includes over 140 singers in the music
program. Band members study vocal jazz performance, history, and
style. Solo performance and techniques in improvisation are given
feature emphasis. Students are encouraged to discover aesthetic
content in music and to perform expressively. Every May the
Northern Singers earn an opportunity to record and produce a CD in a
local recording studio.
The
group maintains a busy performance schedule in the Grand Rapids
area. Besides school concerts the Northern Singers perform at
banquets, parties, and numerous special events. They have sung
the National Anthem at home games for the Detroit Pistons, Grand Rapids
Griffins, and West Michigan Whitecaps. They also have been a
guest ensemble at the Newaygo County Vocal Festival.
Group
honors include being named �Outstanding
Ensemble� seven times at the
Gold Company Invitational Vocal Jazz Festival at Western Michigan
University, Kalamazoo. Alumni of Northern Singers have advanced
to music study (and performance) in prestigious jazz programs at Grand
Rapids Community College, Western Michigan University, and Purdue
University.
CD:
Northern Singers - GH2, Greatest Hits 1999-2004
Tracks:
1.
I Saw Her Standing There - arr. Michelle Weir (UCLA faculty)
2.
Corner Pocket - arr. Phil Mattson
3.
Mozart Overture - arr. Craig York
4.
Everybody's Boppin' - arr. Jon Ward
5.
29 Ways - arr. Tim Brent
6.
Smack Dab In The Middle - arr. Tim Brent
7.
I Can Live With That - arr. Go Fish
8.
My Country Tis Of Thee - arr. Kirby Shaw
9.
Spinnin' Wheel - arr. Tim Brent
10.
My Funny Valentine - arr. Kirby Shaw
11.
All Right OK You Win - arr. Steve Zegree
12.
Joyful, Joyful from Soulful Messiah - arr. Roger Emerson
13.
Ray's Rock House - arr. Steve Zegree
Tim
Brent was a student teacher at Forest Hills Northern. Craig York
was a charter member of Gold Company at Western Michigan University,
directed by Dr. Steve Zegree.
Grosse
Pointe North High School
Mandy
Scott
Choir
Director
Grosse
Pointe, MI
Ph:
(313) 432-3325
e-Mail:
Mandy.Scott@gpschools.org
Ensemble:
Grosse Pointe North
Vocalese
Director
Mandy Scott launched Grosse Pointe North Vocalese in 2004. The
group regularly meets each week for two hours in the evening.
This year 20 students from several classes comprise the ensemble and
performances include several student special events during the academic
season (Fall Concert, Holiday Concert, Spring Concert). The
ensemble also appears at the annual Gold Company Invitational Vocal
Jazz Festival at Western Michigan University. Scott awards one or
two standout vocalists every Spring as award recipients earning
scholarship entry into the highly regarded Steve Zegree Vocal Jazz Camp
in June.
Mattawan
High School
David
Hook
56720
Murray St.
Mattawan,
MI 49071
Ph:
(269) 327-7628
e-Mail:
hookdavid@sbcglobal.net
Ensemble:
none
Mattawan
High School's music program features a Jazz Club active each
October. There are two vocal ensembles performing a total of 6-8
vocal jazz pieces. One group is 24 voices - SATB. The other
is SSA/SSAA with 18 voices. All are upper classmen.
Mattawan
boasts approximately 20 soloists. They do two concerts
highlighting the same ensemble pieces, but each time feature different
soloists gain the spotlight. Mattawan High School also has a jazz
trio that accompanies students, and an instumental combo that performs
a couple of selections. The music program usually plans clinics
each year with two noted jazz educators - Dr. Steve Zegree (Western
Michigan University) and Sunny Wilkinson (Michigan State
University). Each educator spends an entire day, with Wilkinson
concentrating on soloists and Zegree reserving dedicated time with
ensembles.
South
Lyon High School
Steven
Lorenz
1000
N. Layfayette St .
South
Lyon, MI 48178
Ph:
(248) 573-8150
e-Mail:
lorenzs@slcs.us
Ensemble:
All That Jazz
All
That Jazz is the extra-curricular vocal jazz ensemble at South Lyon
HS. It was created in the fall of 2004 and features a range of
10-15 singers with an instrumental combo. Student members are
enrolled in the curricular choral and/or band music programs. All
That Jazz performs regularly in the South Lyon area for community and
school events, as well as SLHS Choir concerts. In addition, the
group has performed at the Ohio Jazz Summit (Tiffin University, Tiffin,
OH), the Michigan State University Jazz Spectacular (E. Lansing), and
the Butler University Vocal Jazz Fest (Indianapolis, IN).
Southwestern
High School
Michele
Cotton-Stanfield
6921
West Fort (between Waterman & Post, off the Livernois exit, I-75
south)
Detroit,
MI 48209
Ph:
(313) 849-4521
e-Mail:
mcottonstanfield@aol.com
Ensemble:
Southwestern Concert
Choir, Women's Ensemble
Ms.
Cotton-Stanfield is interested in having guest vocal jazz clinicians
come and speak at the school, and demonstrate the vocal jazz styles to
her classes and performing groups.
Three
Rivers High School
Joel
Moore
700
6th Avenue
Three
Rivers, MI 49093
Ph:
(269) 279-1120
e-Mail:
JoMoore@TRSchools.org
Ypsilanti
High School
Beth
Patterson
2095
Packard Rd
Ypsilanti,
MI 48197
Ph:
(734) 714-1038
e-Mail:
patterso@ypsd.org
West
Bloomfield High School
Sheryl
Hauk
4925
Orchard Lake Rd
West
Bloomfield, MI 48323
Ph:
(248) 865-6734
e-Mail:
hauk@westbloomfield.k12.mi.us
Vocal
director Sheryl Hauk features a 16-member elite student ensemble (SATB)
who sings show tunes and vocal jazz. At present, she is
fine-tuning development plans to incorporate improvisation into choir
classes.
Top
Vocal Jazz Education -
Resources
Jazz educator Diana Spradling, Western Michigan University, gets to
wear yet another distinguished hat -- author -- and is generating
terrific headlines doing so. How you ask? Well, she's just
made history by writing a new groundbreaking book on jazz vocal
pedagogy. Her music thunder is likely to cause welcome sensation
within the vocal jazz education community.
"Jazz Singing: Developing Artistry and Authenticity" has just been
published by Sound Music Publications. She spent four dedicated
years in acoustical research, plus tapped over three decades of
teaching expertise to document her appraisal on what makes for
insightful singing. Says Spradling, with excitement, "To date,
there has been no other vocal jazz book about pedagogy
published." To which we say, "Congratulations Diana!"
Jazz Singing: Developing Artistry and
Authenticity
by Diana Spradling
Published by Sound Music Publications
On the Web: http://www.smpjazz.com/
Sound Music Publications
PO Box 1598
Edmonds, WA 98020-1598
orders@smpjazz.com
The
Complete Guide to Teaching Vocal Jazz
by
Dr. Stephen Zegree
Published
by Heritage Music Press
Steve
Zegree is director of Gold Company (the renowned vocal jazz ensemble at
Western Michigan University) and is an internationally recognized
authority on vocal jazz styles, repertoire and rehearsal
techniques. This book was written to help "classically trained"
choral directors begin a vocal jazz group or improve an existing
ensemble.
Chapters
include: "It's a Matter of Style," explaining the three general
categories of vocal jazz, swing, Latin, and ballad; "Sound
Reinforcement," which includes practical information on all the
components of a sound system, including specific types of equipment and
set-up; and "Choreography, Staging, and Programming" focusing on the
great debate: shall we dance?
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