Students in jazz studies undertake a well-rounded curriculum aimed at developing performance, writing, historical knowledge, and pedagogical skills useful in both the professional performance world and the fast-growing industry of jazz education. You will develop these skills through:
- Private study
- Rehearsals
- Concerts
- Recordings
- Performances of student works
- Performances with artist-in-residence professionals
- Observing the work of studio musicians, producers, composers, and sound engineers at recording sessions for television show soundtracks in Los Angeles
- Clinics and performances with critically acclaimed artists
You can specialize in jazz instrumental or vocal performance or in jazz composition and arranging.
Our Graduates
Many graduates have enjoyed success as jazz composers, arrangers, artists, educators, freelance musicians, and orchestrators, both in the Las Vegas area and internationally. In addition, jazz alumni have been commissioned and received grants for their compositions by well-known jazz and commercial artists who recorded their works.
There are three auditioned large ensembles, and all jazz majors are placed in small performance groups (combos), including specialized contemporary and guitar ensembles. We are excited and proud to offer you opportunities to prepare for today’s competitive music marketplace by performing both on and off campus.
UNLV jazz combos have been awarded first-place honors at the Reno International Jazz Festival, and jazz ensembles have performed in the prestigious Montreux, Telluride, and Lionel Hampton Jazz Festivals. UNLV Jazz Studies alumni have achieved successful careers regionally and internationally in the music industry as well as in the world of jazz education.