Welcome to the CTK Grade 7/8 Jazz Band

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Dear Student, Parents, and Guardians,

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I’m very excited to announce that we will be implementing a school jazz band this coming year at CTK. This extracurricular band will present the opportunity to students in grades 7 and 8 (grade 6 students with musical experience are welcome to audition) to expand their musical horizons by exposing them to multiple styles of jazz music, learn multiple performing concepts (e.g. improvisation on their instrument), and challenge them with the responsibility of having one player on a part.

Students who are interested and serious about joining the band will audition before rehearsals begin. Audition material will be available well in advance so students have time to prepare. Auditions will be recorded and they will know as soon as possible whether they’ve been accepted into the group or not. Jazz instrumentation mainly consists of trumpet, saxophone (alto, tenor, and baritone), trombone, piano, bass, drums, and optional guitar. All other instruments such as flute and clarinet are usually only solo instruments. Exceptions will be made because of how new the band will be. Additional instruments such as tenor saxophone may have to be rented because the instrument will be unavailable through CTK.

Rehearsals will run twice a week (Tuesday and Thursday mornings from 7:30-8:45 am) and will consist of listening classes where students will listen and analyze multiple styles of jazz from the greatest jazz artists the world has offered. There will be some focus on jazz history. They will be studying jazz theory, and learning multiple performing techniques and concepts related to jazz music, such as learning how to improvise on their instrument.

Aside from the learning the fundamentals, the students will be learning jazz repertoire that will be eventually featured in the band concerts.

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Please see the audition poster below: