EVANSTON, IL A dramatically expanded jazz program awaits educators at the 2009 Midwest Clinic, in the new Midwest Clinic Jazz and Chamber Center. At the upcoming annual conference, jazz concerts and clinics will almost double from the previous year, as organizers step in to meet the need created by the recent demise of the International Association for Jazz Education. The Center will house jazz events and provide a venue for percussion, wind, brass, string, and mixed chamber ensembles. The 2009 Midwest Clinic will be held December 15-19, in a new facility: Chicagos McCormick Place West.
“The Midwest Clinics move into McCormick Place West made it possible for us to expand our jazz programming at a crucial time," explained board members Antonio Garca and J. Richard Dunscomb. “Jazz educators, students, professional musicians, industry representatives, and enthusiasts now have a greater opportunity at Midwest than ever before to come together, hear terrific music in superb settings, learn from each other in workshops, and explore one of the largest music exhibit halls in existence."
The 2009 conference will feature special appearances by Ellis Marsalis and Wayne Bergeron, and a concert from Belgiums Coast Big Band, the first international jazz band to perform at The Midwest Clinic. Jazz program details follow; all listings are subject to change.
Guest artists include:
Eddie Daniels (clarinet); Denis DiBlasio, Derek Douget, Jon Irabagon, Steve Duke, Tom Scott, Chris Vadala, Bjorn Verschoore (saxophone); Wayne Bergeron, Art Davis, Larry Engstrom, Lew Soloff (trumpet); Tom Garling, Richard McGee, Steve Wiest (trombone); Fareed Haque (guitar); Dave Loeb, Ellis Marsalis, Willie Pickens (piano); Joel DiBartolo, Roland Guerin, Kelly Sill (bass); Bob Rummage, Luis Conte, Jason Marsalis, and Rodrigo Villanueva (percussion).
Clinicians/moderators include some of the above, as well as:
Jos Antonio Diaz and the Caliente rhythm section (Mambo Jumbo and All That Jazz; A Multicultural Approach to Teaching Jazz Ensembles); Ron Modell, Mary Jo Papich, and Rob Parton (in conversation); Matt Olson (Playing Both Sides of the Saxophone); Matt Pivec (Its Not Just Scales and Chords: Equipping Your Beginning Improvisers with Tools of Expression); Glenn Williams (The Care and Feeding of the Emerging School Jazz Program: Tips and Takeaways for Sonic Success); and John Wojciechowski (Sound, Technique and Vocabulary: The 3 Pillars of Practice for Jazz Students).
Performing ensembles include:
The United States Air Force Band Airmen of Note, Caliente, The Ellis Marsalis Quartet, The West Point Bands Jazz Knights; and the jazz bands from Elmhurst College, Las Vegas Academy, Northern Illinois University, Stedelijk Conservatorium (Oostende, Belgium), Willis Junior High School, and Warren Township High School.
Founded in 1946, The Midwest Clinic is the worlds largest conference for instrumental music educators. In 2009, the conference makes a historic move to Chicagos McCormick Place West. In this new, state-of-the-art facility, the organizers are able to expand the jazz program, present the largest exhibit hall to date, and offer acoustically excellent ballrooms and comfortable meeting rooms for the jazz, band, and orchestra concerts and clinics that bring the music education community to the conference every year.
About the Midwest Clinic:
The Midwest Clinic exists to serve music educators and to improve the field of music education. The 2009 Midwest Clinic will be held December 15-19, at McCormick Place West (2301 S. Indiana Avenue, Chicago, Illinois). The conferences wealth of clinics, concerts, and exhibits will make the 63rd Annual Midwest Clinic the not-to-be-missed event of the music educators year.
