This clinic addresses many of the issues that middle school jazz band directors encounter as they instruct and manage their ensemble, including management (including curricular and extra-curricular topics), communication, planning, making warm-ups effective, introducing improvisation, the importance of listening, selecting literature, and resources for supplemental materials.
Target Audience
Beginning Jazz Band Directors
Additional Notes
Clinician Info
Mike Kamuf
Alfred Music
Mike Kamuf holds Bachelor of Music degrees in both Jazz Performance and Music Education from the Dana School of Music at Youngstown State University (Youngstown, OH) and a Master of Arts degree in Instrumental Conducting from George Mason University (Fairfax, VA). Mike’s compositions and arrangements have been performed by numerous jazz artists and ensembles, including the Woody Herman and Glenn Miller Orchestras, the USAF Airmen of Note, the US Navy Commodores, James Moody, Eddie Daniels, Sean Jones, Terell Stafford, Bill Watrous, and Nick Brignola. Mike is an exclusive writer for the Belwin Division of Alfred Music Publishing with titles in their jazz, orchestra, and concert band catalogs. He also has compositions for jazz ensemble published by UNC Jazz Press, the Neil A. Kjos Music, and the FJH Music Company. Many of Mike’s published jazz ensemble arrangements have become standard literature for young jazz ensembles, and he currently has over 100 publications in print.