Information for Schools

For Big Bands, clinicians critique their prepared charts for 30-60 minutes, with the option of spending a portion of the clinic teaching the ensemble a jazz composition totally by ear, focusing upon aural training and improvisation. If the ensemble has nothing prepared to bring to Jazz Celebration Weekend, you can have the clinician introduce the ensemble to a selection of your choice (please bring the scores and parts with you for this) or spend the entire hour on aural training and improvisation. Some directors may choose to have the clinician focus upon the improvisational sections of charts they are planning to perform during the year.

For Combos, the group has two options. First, the combo can bring prepared jazz selections (jazz standards or jazz compositions from lead sheets/fake books/published combo charts or transcribed by ear from recordings) for the clinician to critique. For groups that wish to form a combo but haven’t yet done so, directors are encouraged to select a combo from their big band personnel and have the clinician show the group how to get started, how to rehearse the ensemble, and what they should strive to accomplish during the year as a group. In both cases, there is the option of having the clinician teach the group a tune aurally, emphasizing ear training, improvisation, and group interaction.

If your group doesn’t start until November, bring the score and parts to 1-2 charts the group is planning to perform during the school year. Let the clinician begin teaching the piece(s) to the group during the session. Another option for instrumental ensembles: Have the clinician spend the entire session focusing upon improvisation and aural training.

If your group has nothing performance ready, that is okay as Jazz Celebration Weekend was purposely scheduled in the fall to help directors start up their ensembles! The clinicians understand that most groups will be bringing works-in-progress and some may have no repertoire prepared in advance. We encourage directors with little or no jazz training to bring their groups to Jazz Celebration Weekend so that the clinicians can display how to start up the ensemble. With no ratings, awards, or trophies involved, the weekend is void of pressure, and your ensemble will be working “behind closed doors” in an intimate rehearsal setting. All are welcome!

Encourage your students to attend the clinic sessions of other groups. Everyone is free to attend any session that they choose to during the daytime events. Attend a performance by the Lawrence University Jazz Band and Jazz Ensemble at 11 a.m. in the Memorial Chapel and see the Lawrence University Jazz Combos performances in the afternoon in Stansbury Theater.

Fees are charged per student and include participation in the Saturday clinics, as well as one ticket to each evening concert. Additional tickets can be purchased on the Registration Form or through the Lawrence University Box Office. These concerts typically sell out quickly, so order your tickets early. The Saturday daytime performances by the Lawrence Jazz Band, Jazz Ensemble, and Combos are free to attend and do not require a ticket.

Chaperones, parents, and bus drivers are free to attend clinic sessions and daytime concerts by the Lawrence University Jazz Band, Jazz Ensemble, and Combos. If they would like to attend the evening concerts they must contact the Box Office.

We encourage directors to incorporate Jazz Celebration Weekend activities into their groups’ preparations for the weekend. Find and study compositions recorded by the Jazz Celebration Weekend Visiting Artists that you can perform with your group. Emulate their recordings. Teach their tunes to your combos by ear. Give your pupils an historical sense of how these renowned jazz artists fit into the evolution of the jazz art form.

• Basic 4-piece drum-set (YOU MUST BRING YOUR OWN CYMBALS, CYMBAL STANDS, HI-HAT, HI-HAT CYMBALS, AND HI-HAT STAND)
• Bass amplifier (BRING YOUR OWN PATCH CORD)
• Guitar amplifier (BRING YOUR OWN PATCH CORD)
• Piano
• Music stands and chairs
• Vibraphone available ONLY BY ADVANCE REQUEST (notify Patty Darling by October 31)

Clinic sites:

• Big Band – Harper Hall, Shattuck 156, Shattuck 163
• Combo – Shattuck 46

Your clinic site is your warm-up site. Sorry, but directors and students must make provisions to store equipment on buses or in personal vehicles. Jazz Celebration Weekend provides no storage facilities, no homerooms, no warm-up spaces, and no security lock-up areas for equipment.

PDF scores and parts to all commissions are emailed as a gift to all participating festival ensemble directors in September