School of Music to introduce jazz studies by 2011

by Jessica Stugelmayer | March 19, 2010 | Montana Kaimin

Students at the University of Montana could be dancing to a new tune by the fall semester of 2011.

The School of Music is taking steps to introduce jazz studies as a major at UM. Interim director Maxine Ramey said she hopes to submit the paperwork by the next deadline this fall.

She said that for longer than 30 years, UM has had a jazz band, which performs annually at the Buddy DeFranco Jazz Festival, and that many universities began jazz bands to give students experience in the genre to make themselves more marketable as teachers and musicians. Though some universities have these bands, they don’t offer jazz as a major.

“Jazz is prominent everywhere, but having the degree is pretty new,” Ramey said.

To add the major, many schools would have to hire more faculty members, and that hasn’t been feasible until now. The School of Music just hired saxophone performance teacher Johan Ericksson, who will join UM jazz band director Lance Boyd.

Ramey said Boyd has spearheaded the movement to introduce a jazz studies major for the past three years and now believes he can submit the application to do so with the addition of Ericksson to the staff.

“We’re really excited that this is actually going to happen,” she said.

The degree would be a Bachelor of Arts with a specialization in jazz studies, and Ramey said the school is not going to offer jazz as a minor.

“There’s been such a calling for that in our school that it is better to give them a full degree in that rather than just giving them a taste,” Ramey said.

She said that out of every incoming freshmen class of 90 to 100 students, there are usually five to 10 students interested in jazz as a major. It seems small, but she said these numbers would be enough for the program to sustain itself and grow.

Ramey said she’s sure there are current students with an interest in jazz who would add jazz studies as a second major, especially those students studying saxophone performance. She also said that brass instruments, percussion and piano would benefit from a second area of study to make the students more marketable when they graduate.

However, students majoring in vocal performance won’t have jazz as an option. Ramey said this is because they won’t have the staff right away. But she hopes that as the school adds to the program, it will add more specializations like jazz vocal performance.

This change isn’t the only one the School of Music has seen lately. Just this year, it changed its title back to a “school of music” rather than just “the music department,” which it became in the 70s.

“We’ve revived to a school of music again,” Ramey said.

She said this is because of a change in the School of Fine Arts, which oversaw the music department. When the School of Fine Arts became the College of Performing and Visual Arts, the School of Music got its old name back.

“It became so prestigious it went to a college,” she said. “We’ve reached notoriety in the university world.”

Local jazz pianist David Morgenroth, who taught at UM from 2004-2007, said he thinks a jazz studies major at UM is long overdue.

“Jazz in the music curriculum has been a mainstay around the country and the world,” Morgenroth said. “It’s about time UM joined the 21st century.”

He said the jazz scene in Missoula has been on the rise, so adding jazz as a major would instill the genre further in the art community.

“There’s a healthy audience for jazz in Missoula, and a degree program will only bolster it,” Morgenroth said.

He said the timing couldn’t be more perfect for the School of Music to launch its program.

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