Following a highly successful event in the fall of 2022, the Northwest College Music Department is hosting its Vocal Jazz Academy on Saturday, inviting students, teachers and community members to spend a day learning about the genre. The workshop runs from 9 a.m.–6 p.m. in the Nelson Performing Arts Auditorium on the NWC campus and ends with a free concert at 5 p.m. that is open to the public.

Interested participants can register at vocaljazzacademy.com/reg/ by selecting the Wyoming location. The pre-registration cost for the teacher track is $20, and the student track pre-registration cost is $10, with both subsidized by a state grant. A Wyoming Arts Council grant will also cover all fees for school groups, up to the first 65 teachers and students. After that, discounted group fees will apply. Lunch, publisher reading packets and mass choir music are all included in the cost.

Walk-up registration is available the morning of the event. Those seeking more information on group discounts should contact Eric Hagmann, vocal music instructor at Northwest College, at eric.hagmann@nwc.edu.

The one-day workshop features jazz reading sessions; breakout sessions on topics such as jazz solo singing, vocal technique in choral and jazz settings, and improvisation, and teacher round table discussions. Participants will also rehearse throughout the day as part of the Academy Mass Choir, and perform in a free concert that night, with selected solo performances by students, as well as the Northwest College Studio Singers.

The Vocal Jazz Academy, founded by Matt Falker, is a mobile one-day event which travels around the country, with the goal of educating and connecting vocal jazz educators and students as they prepare for the new school year. Each academy is customized to fit the needs of the local jazz community. Leading this year’s event at Northwest College are Hagmann, guest director Brennan Baglio, and Powell High School choir director Rachel Schoessler.