VCU EXCHANGE STUDENTS

The next lunch-hour concert at the Centre for Jazz & Popular Music at UKZN takes place today (Monday, July 30) and features jazz students from the Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond in a programme of Jazz standards.

The Jazz Studies Program at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Virginia, has been thriving for over 30 years. It provides its students with outstanding opportunities to pursue jazz performance and writing, as evidenced in part by such successful former students as Steve Wilson (sax, Chick Corea's Origin); James Genus (bass, Saturday Night Live Band; recordings with Dave Douglas, Michael Brecker, Mike Stern and John Abercrombie); Victor Goines (sax/clarinet, Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra); Clarence Penn (drums, Maria Schneider Orchestra); Alvester Garnett (drums, recordings with Abbey Lincoln, Cyrus Chestnut, James Carter); Mark Shim (sax, Blue Note recording artist, member of Terence Blanchard sextet); Al Waters (sax, featured with Ray Charles); Alvin Walker (trombone, Count Basie Orchestra), Daniel Clarke (pianist, Mandy Moore, k.d. lang); and Emre Kartari (drums; Jazz Department, Yasar University, Izmir, Turkey).

Students also benefit from VCU's acclaimed Music Industry course, plus Digital Recording courses in the area and the extremely active music and arts scene in Richmond, Virginia that surrounds VCU.

In June 2012 VCU Jazz Studies received a VCU International Partnerships Major Initiatives Award (IPMI) to bring American and African citizens together in musical and personal understanding. Titled VCU and the University of KwaZulu-Natal: A Jazz Bridge to Greater Understanding, this grant project will bring together students and faculty of the Jazz Studies Programs of Virginia Commonwealth University and the University of KwaZulu-Natal in Durban.

VCU representatives will make two trips to UKZN, plus two by UKZN to VCU, each team including one faculty member and six university students. Newly commissioned works, joint concerts, internet collaborations, curricular reviews, and cultural opportunities will round out the shared experience.

The concert takes place at 12h15 today (July 30) at the Centre for Jazz and Popular Music at UKZN. Entrance is free. For more information, contact Babalwa Mentjies on 031 260 3353.