The University of Huddersfield is the location for this year’s conference. Following on from last year’s topic of ‘improvisation as a catalyst for learning and child development’ we will be focussing on diversity. Right now there’s a focus on the lack of diversity across the arts. What steps can we take in the jazz education world to ensure that children growing up today will help create a more balanced diverse music scene in the future?

Speakers include Malik Al Nasir – protégé of Gil Scott Heron, beat boxer/rapper/educator, Cath Sewell of Lancashire Music Hub, Homecut / Testament and Eva Frost, Director of Jazz Denmark and a range of discussion groups looking at a range of diversity issues. Plus there will be plenty of time for networking.

 

Register for the conference: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/jazz-north-education-conference-2018-tickets-45516791950

This year we are asking for a £15 contribution to help towards the catering for the conference which will include a buffet lunch and refreshments. A number of attendance bursaries are available to unfunded organisations and freelance educators living in the north of England. Please send bursary requests to info@nulljazznorth.org.

 

Phipp’s Hall
1st Floor Creative Arts Building
Queensgate, Huddersfield HD1 3DH

(click map for full version)

2017 Jazz North Education Conference

improvisation: catalyst for learning and child development

The psychology of improvisation: how the brain responds and learns from improvisation

Dr Graeme Wilson
Reid School of Music, ECA
University of Edinburgh
www.eca.ed.ac.uk/reid-school-of-music/graeme-wilson
www.concurrent.music.ed.ac.uk/

Graeme Wilson’s presentation reviewed evidence from psychological research on how improvisation takes place in jazz and other genres, and what this practice can do for us. He presented a pragmatic approach to understanding and teaching developing group improvisation in its broadest sense, based on a recent study at University of Edinburgh, with the assistance of Harry Keeble and Mathew Richardson undergraduate students from the Leeds College of Music.

Graeme is also an active musician and composer on the northern jazz scene and is a northern line ambassador artist.

Improvisation for young children and toddlers

Una MacGlone
Reid School of Music, ECA
University of Edinburgh
www.eca.ed.ac.uk/reid-school-of-music/una-macglone

Una MacGlone will discuss her appoach and outcomes when facilitating improvisation with young children. She will draw on relevant literature as well has her own education work with Glasgow Improvisers Orchestra and her PhD project focusing on 3-5 year old children.

Helping young people from challenging backgrounds develop musical, technical, and performance skills

Dr Enrico Bertelli
conductivemusic.uk

Enrico is a performance-based researcher with 9+ years experience teaching, performing, workshop leading.Enrico regularly performs all over Europe and collaborates with a variety of artists and composers. Commissions include New Music New Media (Aldeburgh & Kings Place) and Hack the Barbican. Co-curator of Sensorium (£13k) (Dublin) funded by the Irish Arts Council (2010); Artist in Residence with Atelier L’Arsenale (Venice), Ensemble Modern (Innsbruck), Ensemble Recherche (Freiburg).

Together with Ms Robertson, he was Participant (2012) and Curator (2013) of Big Ears: Sonic Art for Public Ears, with AHRC (2012) and HEA (2013). They directed successful pilot project Conductive Music which reached 200+ young people in East London with funding from Arts Council England, PRS for Music Foundation, Newham Music Trust, Community Links, and European Cultural Foundation, as well as support from JoyLabz (USA), ArtParkING (Russia) and London Music Hackspace. They have been awarded an Artist International Development Fund for their 2014 UK – Japan tour featuring multimedia art as cultural bridges for shared agricultural, technological and environmental issues. Random Freedom sits at an intersection between multi-media performance artists and open-source communities. As both artists and researchers, we want to help young people from challenging backgrounds develop musical, technical, and performance skills by introducing them to new music and new media.

‘The Improvisation Room’

Dave Evans
Fruit Tree Arts
Dave is a composer, performer, band leader, and educator and founder and director of Garforth Arts Festival, Dave has involved thousands of young people and community members in a diverse range of educational arts projects over a period of twelve years. He also directs The Garforth Jazz Rock Band – a youth ensemble with a high emphasis on improvisation as part of the Garforth Community Arts School.

Dave’s current work involves a number of different projects across Yorkshire including school groups and professional ensembles. As a workshop leader he specializes in jazz and improvised music, creating arrangements and compositions in collaboration with other musicians.