The Don “Moose” Jamison Heritage School of Music

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Kidd Jordan teaching at the Don Jamison Heritage School of Music. Photo by Stephen Houser.

Kidd Jordan teaching at the Don Jamison Heritage School of Music. Photo by Stephen Houser.

I try to help them with their instrument and with the jazz vocabulary. Then they can take it an do something with it.

Edward "Kidd" Jordan

THE DON "MOOSE" JAMISON HERITAGE SCHOOL OF MUSIC
The Don "Moose" Jamison Heritage School of Music is the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Foundation's principal education program. It's free, and open to kids ages 11 to 17 from throughout the greater New Orleans region.

SPRING 2013 AUDITIONS
Auditions for the Spring 2013 semester will take place at 10 a.m. on Saturday, Jan. 12, at Dillard University's Cook Fine Arts Center. New students are welcome. Contact us if you are interested in joining.

PROGRAM HISTORY
New Orleans is a city of musical dynasties. The sounds of our culture have been passed down through the generations, to be refreshed or reinvented by the creativity of our children.

For the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival and Foundation, Inc., our mission could not be complete without a vibrant education component. The* Don “Moose” Jamison Heritage School of Music* is the cornerstone of that effort.

Started in 1990 by Edward “Kidd” Jordan, the patriarch of one of our leading jazz clans, the Heritage School of Music provides free, weekly after-school instruction to teen-agers from throughout the New Orleans region.

From the beginning, Jordan’s philosophy has been to give young musicians a solid grounding in the basics of music performance and theory, so that as they mature they can find their own voice.

“I try to help them with their instrument and with the jazz vocabulary,” Jordan says. “Then they can take it and do something with it.”

Students who have passed through the Heritage School of Music include some of the hottest names on New Orleans’ music scene, among them Troy “Trombone Shorty” Andrews, Sammie “Big Sam” Williams and Shamarr Allen. Heritage School students also have gone on to attend some of the most prestigious conservatories in the country, including the Berklee College of Music and The Juliard School.

After Hurricane Katrina, the Heritage School of Music moved from its longtime home at Southern University at New Orleans to the Lusher Charter High School. In 2007, the program expanded to include Saturday classes at Dillard University and other local schools.

In addition to providing free music education to young people in the community, the Heritage School of Music creates employment opportunities for the musicians who serve as teachers. These have included some of the city’s most respected performers, such as Edward “Kidd” Jordan, Kent Jordan, Germaine Bazzle, Jonathan Bloom, Edward Anderson, Leah Chase, Geoff Clapp, Brent Rose and Jesse McBride.

The Heritage School of Music also provides professional performance opportunities for the students, with appearances at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival presented by Shell, the French Quarter Festival, the Crescent City Blues & BBQ Festival and other events.

The Heritage School of Music is named in honor of Don “Moose” Jamison, a beloved jazz authority and longtime disc jockey on radio station WWOZ, who as a Jazz & Heritage Festival and Foundation board member, played a leading role in establishing the program. He died in 2003.

At a time when New Orleans faces extraordinary challenges, especially in the realm of public education, the Jazz & Heritage Foundation is moving steadfastly to reinforce the role of music and culture in the lives of our youth.

In 2010, the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Foundation named Derek Douget as the new coordinator of the Heritage School of Music. In addition to Derek, who teaches woodwinds, the teaching faculty consists of: Edward “Kidd” Jordan (fundamentals); Michael Pellera (piano); Peter Harris  (bass); Don Vappie (guitar); Leon Brown (brass);  Ricky Sebastian and Geoff Clapp (drums); and Leah Chase (voice).

SCHOOL INFOMRATION
The Heritage School of Music serves students ages 11 to 17 from throughout the greater New Orleans region. Classes are held on Saturday mornings, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., on the second floor of the Cook Fine Arts Center at Dillard University (2601 Gentilly Blvd., New Orleans). Instruction is available in:

  • Brass
  • Woodwinds
  • Piano
  • Voice
  • Bass
  • Drums
  • Guitar

The Heritage School of Music does not provide instruments. Students should own their own instruments and (except for piano and drums) bring them to the auditions and to class each week.

ENROLLMENT GUIDELINES
The Heritage School accepts beginning to advanced students.

Beginners should have completed at least one year of prior instruction on their instruments. They should be able to play a major and minor scale, identify notes on a staff and play at least one song. Students should own their own instruments and should bring them to the auditions.

More advanced students should be prepared to:

  • Perform a song (preferably a jazz standard) that demonstrates their full range of ability
  • Demonstrate an ability to improvise over a blues form in the keys of F and B flat
  • Play a chromatic scale (two octaves)
  • Sight-read an unfamiliar jazz composition
  • For pianists and bassists, demonstrate a fundamental ability to read chord changes

Drummers should have at least some experience with:

  • Single stroke and double stroke rolls
  • Flams and paradiddles
  • Reading snare drum music
  • Playing very basic jazz beat and rock/funk beat
  • Second Line rhythms
  • Playing a C Major scale on the piano

Vocalists should be able to sing an unfamiliar melodic phrase after hearing it once or twice. Experience with reading music is a plus.

ENROLLMENT INFORMATION AND CLASS SCHEDULE
Students (or their parents) interested in attending the Heritage School of Music should complete the student enrollment form in the Downloads section below and bring it with them to the audition.

Classes for the Fall 2012 semester will begin on Saturday, Sept. 22. Classes will continue through May, culminating with a performance at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival presentyed by Shell.

Students will be given written evaluations at the start and end of each semester.

ATTENDANCE GUIDELINES
The Heritage School of Music is a free program. The Jazz & Heritage Foundation is working hard to provide excellent educational and performance opportunities. We ask students who enroll in the program to maintain a consistent attendance record.

Especially with regard to the public performance opportunities that we provide, adequate preparation is essential.

As a result, we have instituted a policy that students who accumulate more than three unexcused absences in a semester will not be eligible to participate in the public performances and/or recording sessions organized for Heritage School students.

For medical absences, a note from a doctor or parent must be submitted to the program director within one week of the absence in order for an absence to be considered excused.

For non-medial absences, students must submit a written request to the program director before they miss a class for the absence to be considered excused.

For more information, please contact the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Foundation by calling (504) 558-6100, or by emailing Derek Douget at ddouget@jazzandheritage.org.

Questions? Contact the Jazz & Heritage Foundation Programs Department by calling (504) 558-6100.

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