Online Classes Open to All Musicians
Egg Harbor, WI – Each Saturday morning in April, Birch Creek’s nationally and internationally renowned Big Band Jazz faculty will share their musical expertise during one-hour online Studio Sessions. The classes are open to aspiring young music students, as well as experienced amateur musicians and professional performing artists. These Zoom sessions are a special opportunity to interact with and gain a wealth of knowledge and insights from some of the finest music artists and educators in the country.
Larry Brown Jr., Birch Creek Jazz I faculty, guitar begins the April sessions with “Rhythm Guitar: The Hearbeat of the Band” on April 3 at 11:00 AM. Brown will discuss and demonstrate the many musical hats that a rhythm guitarist wears throughout their career.
On April 10 at 11:00 AM, Clarence Hines, Birch Creek Jazz II faculty, trombone, presents “Jazz Concepts for Brass” in which he will focus on concepts in jazz improvisation and how to develop a good feel for sound and time.
Michael Stryker, Birch Creek Jazz I faculty, piano, will present “Improvising at the Piano” on April 17 at 11:00 AM. Stryker will help participants understand the piano as a triple-threat: as a percussion instrument, a chordal instrument and a melodic instrument all rolled into one.
The final session will take place on April 24 at 11:00 AM with Tom Garling, Birch Creek Jazz I faculty, trombone – “The Jazz Ear: Making the Leap from Theory to Listening to Playing Your Instrument.” As Garling says, “Jazz is primarily an art form of listening, communication, and imitation.” In this class, he will teach participants how to develop their ears and make a connection between what they know and what they hear in music.
Through these Studio Sessions, Birch Creek is extending its mission of immersing young musicians in a professional, mentoring environment to the shoulder seasons and is opening up the experience to amateur and professional musicians as well. Birch Creek Music Performance Center is a residential summer music academy in Egg Harbor, WI, for advanced young musicians pursuing a career path in music. For 45 years, students in Percussion & Steel Band, Symphony, and Big Band Jazz have been taught by nationally known performers and educators during the day and performed alongside them in concerts at night. In 2020, due to Covid-19, those performances took place over the air waves. Birch Creek will return to modified onsite summer programming in 2021.
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