News

2010 Competition Winner Cécile McLorin Salvant Featured on NPR’s Tiny Desk

National Public Radio released the latest edition of its popular Tiny Desk YouTube series today, featuring GRAMMY Award-winning vocalist Cécile McLorin Salvant. McLorin Salvant, who won the 2010 Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz International Vocals Competition, performed a four-song live set accompanied by pianist Sullivan Fortner. Reviewing the performance, NPR Music Producer Suraya Mohamed called […]

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Education VP Begins September Performing Arts High Schools Education Tour

Vice President for Education & Curriculum Development Dr. JB Dyas began a marathon tour of public schools this month as part of the Institute’s national Performing Arts High Schools (PAHS) initiative. The tour will take Dr. Dyas to six partner schools in five states and include intensive instruction for students and faculty across a variety […]

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In Memory of Aretha Franklin

The world lost a legend today. And, the Institute lost one of its most beloved friends and loyal supporters. For over two decades, Aretha Franklin has generously and graciously given her time and resources to the Institute by headlining concerts, participating in our Competition, appearing on our network television specials, and performing during International Jazz […]

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Institute Students, Alumni Represented at 23rd Central Avenue Jazz Festival

Students in the Institute’s Los Angeles-area public school-based education programs received top billing at last weekend’s Central Avenue Jazz Festival, a decades-old LA institution. Also on offer were multiple ensembles led by alumni of both the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz Performance and the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz International Competitions. On Saturday, June 28th, […]

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Institute Trustee Shorter Announced as 2018 Kennedy Center Honoree

Renowned saxophonist and Institute Trustee Wayne Shorter, a legendary figure in jazz for more than six decades, will be recognized as one of eight recipients of the prestigious Kennedy Center Honors. The awards ceremony will take place on December 2, 2018, at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. As […]

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Don Braden, Bobby Broom, Lisa Henry lead 2018 Peer-to-Peer Tours to the Dakotas, San Diego

Students at 10 public schools in Fargo, North Dakota; Sioux Falls, South Dakota; and San Diego, California benefited from jazz education programming offered through the Institute’s spring 2018 Peer-to-Peer tours. Acclaimed jazz masters and our National Peer-to-Peer All-Star Jazz Sextets conducted a series of informances and in-depth educational workshops, with an emphasis on making jazz […]

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LA Jazz in the Classroom Spring Concert Swings in the Summer

The Institute’s Los Angeles-area Jazz in the Classroom program held its Spring Concert on June 2 at the Musicians Institute in Hollywood, ushering out the 2018 school year with performances by more than 50 talented student musicians. Each year’s Spring Concert gives every Jazz in the Classroom student the opportunity to put into practice the […]

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Graduation for the Institute of Jazz Performance Class of 2018

The Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz Performance bid its latest class a fond farewell as the group of seven students formally graduated from the program, concluding two years of intensive study with some of the world’s greatest jazz masters. In a ceremony on UCLA’s Dickson Court Plaza, Luca Alemanno (bass, Italy), Anthony Fung (drums, Canada), […]

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College Program hosts final jam session at blue whale on Tuesday, June 5

The Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz Performance Ensemble will conclude its monthly feature at Los Angeles jazz spot blue whale on Tuesday, June 3. The group will kick things off at 9 pm (doors open at 8 pm) with an hour-long set of standards and originals, followed by a jam session open to all. Instrumentalists […]

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Jazz in the Classroom students participate in 2018 DCPS Music Festival

Performance is a critical component of any jazz education program. Students from the Institute’s Washington, D.C. Jazz in the Classroom program had the opportunity to do just that on Monday as part of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts’ annual DCPS Music Festival. Jazz ensembles from Woodrow Wilson High School and the […]

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