We welcomed 18 musicians aged 7 to 16 to the conservatoire
Designed to give female and non-binary musicians the chance to experience jazz music and improvisation in a supportive environment.
Addressing the gender imbalance in jazz, the Jazz Camp for Girls initiative began in 2019 and has continued to group with camps across the weekend. With support from Leeds Educational Partnership, the conservatoire was able to offer free places to students studying or living in Leeds. The day was a collaborative project between Leeds Junior Conservatoire and the HE Jazz Department.
The students warming up to start the day
Start of the day Warm Ups
We started the day with group warm up activities to help the students get in the zone, with the tutors playing a piece, whilst Nadim helped the group to feel the beat, leading them to show us their best dance moves on different counts of the music. The tutors then introduced themselves by performing a song to the group, and demonstrated some call and response concepts the class would be looking at later in the day. Becca also led some exercises for the students to echo her, to get the students familiar with finding and repeating rhythmic, melodic and conversational ideas before picking up their instruments.
Meeting with the other camps
After lunch the students and their tutors met up with the other camps running across the North on Zoom. Helena Summerfield, the Jazz Camp for Girls project leader, introduced everyone and students got to hear what the other locations had been working on. They also had a chance to perform the piece they’d been learning, ‘Love makes the world go round’.
What do the students think?
Here's what Alice, Amelia and Charlotte have learned and enjoyed about Jazz Camp for Girls!
Amelia: 'I've got better at playing by ear because I usually struggle with that, and I've got a new approach to improvisation.'
Alice: 'We've been doing this pattern in our group, and it's been really fun because I haven't done anything like it before, I usually play from sheet music, so learning the parts by ear and putting them together has been really good.'
Charlotte: 'I have learned and enjoyed how to improvise, and that music doesn't just have to be reading, you can just play whatever you want to.'
Generation Big Band Rehearsal
We had a short break to go across the hall and watch the Generation Big Band rehearsal, joined by HE students Olivia and Sophie, who spent today’s sessions helping tutor the students. This was a great opportunity for the students to hear a different style of jazz music, as well as seeing a live performance from Leeds Conservatoire students and alumni, professionals, alongside some of our very own Leeds Junior Conservatoire musicians. Tickets are available now for the upcoming Generation Big Band performance on the 23rd of March in the Venue – see our website for details about the evening and to book your ticket.
Performance!
We finished the day with a performance from our amazingly creative and talented students showcasing their work from the day. A fabulous appreciative audience heard a real variety of jazz standards, with all performers playing without music.
Head of Leeds Junior Conservatoire, Karen Gourlay said,
'This has been an inspirational day. I am very proud to work with the team of people who brought Jazz Camp for Girls to life. It is essential that opportunities like this exist for young people to explore and develop their musical interests in a safe and nurturing environment. We look forward to seeing what these talented young musicians do next and can’t wait to do Jazz Camp for Girls again next year'
Tutors and final year HE students Olivia and Sophie said,
Olivia: 'My favourite moment was when I performed with the Generation Big Band as the Jazz Camp students could see all the women playing in the band, and it felt like it was a really good thing to do'
Sophie: 'It was really good to see how engaged everyone was and that they were all enjoying it. They were all picking things up so quickly - it was really impressive.'
Find out more:
If you would like to know more about opportunities for young people in music at Leeds Junior Conservatoire please contact us at Junior@lcm.ac.uk. We have a wide range of entry points from beginner through to advanced.
Our partners on this project:
