Overview

The Clinic & Concert Program takes place during one afternoon and evening—from 5:00 p.m. until 9:30 p.m.—and involves a clinic, dinner and a community concert. An overview:

• Between four and seventeen CJO clinicians run a clinic lasting 60-90 minutes with the participating school jazz ensemble in late afternoon or early evening. The unique 16-musician format is known as "Side by Side", and has each CJO musician sitting next to his/her counterpart in the school jazz ensemble, with individual coaching.
• Following the clinic, CJO and high school band members eat dinner together. Dinner is typically provided by the host high school.
• The CJO performs a community concert at the school that evening, with the school jazz ensemble opening the concert with a set about 20 minutes long. The CJO’s performance includes sight-reading a piece of the school band’s choosing, selected from the school’s library of jazz charts.
• The school’s band booster organization or the school itself is responsible for promoting the concert and selling tickets as a fundraiser for their program.
• The school and/or the music booster organization pays a nominal fee of $500 in consideration of foundations providing the balance of support for the program cost. This builds the school’s ownership in and commitment to the project.

The grand finale of the CJO Clinic & Concert experience is a community concert that features an opening set performed by the high school jazz ensemble and a 60-minute concert by the CJO. Some high schools have used the community concert as a fund raiser for their music departments or band booster organizations by charging a nominal ticket fee ($5 or $10 per ticket). The clinic is followed by dinner provided by the high school. During dinner students and band members have the opportunity to interact in a more informal setting.The format of the clinic is flexible and can be adapted to best meet the needs of students and band director.

During the 60- to 90-minute clinic, CJO clinicians sit next to their high school jazz ensemble counterparts and provide individual and group instruction while working on 2 or 3 charts selected by the high school jazz ensemble director. CJO works directly with the music director prior to the clinic to decide which charts to work on and identify specific areas of concern for the clinic.

Clinics can involve the entire CJO or a smaller number of clinicians. In addition, CJO can work with one jazz ensemble for the entire clinic—or, it can split the clinic time between two ensembles (one watches while the other participates and vice versa). Finally, CJO can divide its 16 members into groups of section leaders who can then work with two, three or even four different jazz ensembles at one time (for instance, a Jazz I, Jazz II, Jazz Lab and middle school jazz band).

The side-by-side approach to this clinic has been a bit hit with students, who appreciate the instant rapport they have with the professional musicians of the CJO and the personalized playing tips and techniques these musicians provide.

In the spring of 2008, thanks to generous support from the GAR Foundation of Akron and the Margaret Clark Morgan Foundation of Hudson, the CJO expanded its one-day Clinic & Concert program into another offering—a three-visit CJO Jazz Residency Program.

During the CJO Jazz Residency Program, CJO clinicians work with a high school’s jazz ensemble on three separate occasions, as follows:

• Visit #1—2 hours: Artistic Director Jack Schantz
• Visit #2—2 hours (occurs 2 to 3 weeks after Visit #1): Four CJO band members (trumpet, trombone, saxophone, rhythm)
• Visit #3—4 hours (occurs 2 to 3 weeks after Visit #2): Full CJO (16 members) —to conduct a "side by side" 90-minute clinic followed by dinner with the students (provided by the school) and a community concert featuring a 30-minute performance by the school ensemble and a 60-minute performance by the CJO. The clinic involves all 16 members of the CJO sitting next to their student counterparts and working on charts chosen by the school band director and the CJO Artistic Director. The clinic format allows time for one-on-one instruction and ensemble rehearsal. Some high schools have used the community concert as a fundraiser for their music departments or band booster organizations by charging a nominal ($5 or $10) ticket fee.—to run sectional rehearsals with each section of the school ensemble; these rehearsals will allow time for one-on-one as well as group instruction.—to introduce the CJO and the program, provide ensemble playing instruction and work one-on-one with students on basic jazz performance techniques.

Visits can occur during school hours, after school, in the evening or on weekends.

What To Expect

Schools who host a CJO Education Outreach Program are responsible for the following:

• Working with the CJO staff (Executive Co-Director and Artistic Director) to determine mutually-acceptable date(s) for the program;
• Working directly with CJO Artistic Director to finalize the format for the clinic;
• Providing dinner, bottled water and a secure dressing room/instrument room to 18 CJO personnel (band members and staff);
• Publicizing the community concert and handling any ticket sales associated with the concert;
• Providing a printed program at the concert which includes information about the CJO (provided by the CJO).
• Staffing the community concert as necessary (providing volunteers to manage ticket sales, hand out programs, etc.)
• Allowing CJO personnel to sell CJO CDS at the community concert (CJO retains 100% of all CD sales)

To assist with these efforts, the CJO provides a detailed "Logistics Document" that includes all technical requirements and logistical considerations for the clinic, dinner and concert. It also includes a sample press release about the program, suitable for distribution to local newspapers and other media; a CJO Profile to be included in the printed program for the evening; and, bios of all CJO band members for reference.