The internationally-acclaimed Jazz Music Institute will open its doors to prospective students in July for an open day.
The day provides the opportunity to chat with staff and students over a BBQ lunch, participate in jam sessions, and experience what it's like to be part of the JMI community. JMI CEO Nick Quigley fill us in.
Firstly, you don't need to be a jazz musician to benefit from taking jazz classes, right?
Definitely not. The greatest thing about learning jazz is how much it can help playing in other genres of music. Western music uses generally the same harmony and by learning jazz you learn more complex and sophisticated ways of manipulating Western harmony that you can then transfer to other genres of music. Most of our students come to us with limited jazz knowledge, usually from pop or rock backgrounds.
JMI is the only music school in Australia that offers an on-campus jazz club with regular jam sessions. What does this mean for JMI students?
It means students get a huge amount of access to local, interstate and international jazz musicians plus heaps of performance opportunities on a weekly basis. The jam sessions offer students a chance to put in practice what they've learnt that week to the bandstand as well as possibly playing with some of Australia's finest jazz musicians.
JMI has a number of endorsements from significant jazz figures including Wynton Marsalis who founded the Jazz at Lincoln Centre in New York. To receive that type of recognition must be priceless? And also a mighty pat-on-the-back?
It's very humbling to receive the endorsements we have from luminaries such as Wynton Marsalis. It definitely lets us know we're on the right track and doing good things.
The JMI Faculty. What kind of teaching wealth do your teachers bring to the student body?
Our faculty is probably JMI's greatest asset: we've got some of the best educators and players in Australia that bring decades of knowledge to students. Students get one hour, one-on-one lessons with these teachers and get amazing access to their knowledge and expertise. Our faculty are really lovely people too, and give as much as they can for the next generation of jazz musicians.
Do you need to be a full-time musician to consider JMI? Or can someone who is indulging jazz as a hobby or part time benefit from the classes?
There are flexible study options available for studying the Bachelor or Diploma courses. But even if you didn't want to study full-time or lock yourself into a course, we run plenty of short courses and workshops for people that just want to dip their toe in the water or want to play music as a hobby.
Tell us about a couple of recent successful JMI graduate stories? What have they achieved?
We've had students go on to complete their Masters and other post-graduate studies at prestigious institutions such as Monash University. One of our graduates, Travis Jenkins, was nominated for the Freidman Fellowship last year which is a great honour among the jazz community. On top of that we have plenty of graduates that have gone on to forge successful careers performing in festivals and around Australia as well as secure full-time teaching occupations in some of Brisbane's finest high school music programmes.
What activities have been planned for the Open Day; what will prospective students be able to do?
We'll be having a BBQ and getting some current students up for a jam session with some staff as well. There'll be plenty of people around to talk to about how the courses are structured and what are the benefits of studying at JMI. Prospective students will also be able to see our facilities and get a feel for our community vibe and life as a JMI student. We'll also have some videos of jazz concerts and documentaries going throughout the day.
JMI's Open Day takes place Saturday 9 July (11am-2pm).
