Long acknowledged as one of the most competitive and highly revered music programs in the world, the Eastman School of Music and the Jazz and Contemporary Media program are building and expanding upon this legacy with the development and launch of the new Jazz Voice degree. Under the direction of 3x GRAMMY® nominated jazz vocalist and educator, Sara Gazarek, Eastman is embracing new directions in the ever-changing landscape of the jazz and music community, and the jazz voice genre as a whole.

The vision behind (and integration of) the new Jazz Voice degree at Eastman is to create a collaborative community that mirrors what most professional musicians experience in their work – a diverse, open-minded, and celebratory interactive relationship between all empowered musicians, independent of their chosen instrument. To see and uplift the artist behind the art, and to celebrate the union and divide that all musicians inherently inhabit in our search for expression of the human experience.

Incoming students can expect a curriculum full of extraordinary performance opportunities with both large and small jazz ensembles, one on one work with guest artists, and academic coursework in jazz and other genres that will broaden and enrich their understanding of this cultural art form in a way that sets Eastman on the map as the place to be for jazz vocal artists and educators. Special focus will be placed on tailored individual instruction, CCM vocal pedagogy and functional skills, improvisation, musicianship and ear training, performance, bandleading, composition, arranging, and recording techniques.

In valuing the individual needs and processes of each student, our new Jazz Voice degree strives to celebrate the importance of artistry and originality early on. By limiting enrollment and creating a smaller class size, this allows us to work more closely with each student to develop their unique talents and skills and cultivating a tight-knit community within our program.

Through performance, instruction, masterclasses, Artists in Residence, recording, collaboration, special projects, and targeted coursework, our Eastman jazz vocal and instrumental students are given the skills to celebrate their commonalities and their differences.

With an emphasis in development of real-world skills, our jazz voice students will have access to a multitude of performance opportunities, in a wide array of venues, and ensembles.