Vocal Jazz Ensemble Fund
The Vocal Jazz Program at Indiana University Jacobs School of Music is a prestigious experience for our students, accepting only 4-6 students per year. Accepted students receive extensive professional gigging experience while being immersed in a supportive, friendly, diverse, and nurturing environment. The opportunities that exist are singing on professional demo recordings for music publishing companies, exposure to touring and perofrming on a national/international level, and access to excellent state-of-the-art new PA system for rehearsing and performing.
Vocal jazz students also have many opportunities to interact with the IU Jazz faculty on a daily basis, visiting guest artists, and many ensembles as they develop their skills and collaborate with other musicians in duo, trio, combo, and big band settings.
The Vocal Jazz Ensemble is a vital and important aspect of the Jazz Voice major at Indiana University Jacobs School of Music. The ensemble won the 2014 and 2015 Down Beat Award in the Graduate College Vocal Group category. IU vocal jazz ensembles have toured to New York City, and performed at Jazz at Lincoln Center. They have performed and shared the stage with Kurt Elling, Janis Siegel, Bobby McFerrin, Darmon Meader, and many others.
Open to any IU student regardless of major, the repertoire they sing include arrangements and compositions that are known to be challenging and sophisticated in the vocal jazz idiom, ranging from bop, swing, big band, to R&B, as well as current and contemporary compositions.
The Vocal Jazz Ensemble Fund was established to support the Vocal Jazz Program at the Jacobs School of Music as well as activities of the Choral Department.