This session will focus on tips and strategies to help directors of beginning and intermediate-level jazz ensembles select the best performance music to motivate and inspire their students. Topics covered will include understanding your ensemble, personalizing criteria for your literature selection, characteristics of high-quality literature, evaluating literature choices, and composers and arrangers of quality literature.
Target Audience
Jazz Bands
Additional Notes
Clinician Info
Michael 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.