GMF London Jazz Workshop and Music Festival London 2013
Kings Place, London, UK, 28 March–02 April 2013
The Programme
Every GMF workshop features outstanding musicians who are also great communicators. Under their guidance, participants gain valuable insights and playing experience, rehearsing together towards a concert. There are classes in the various musical disciplines such as instrumental technique, harmony, ensemble playing and improvisation, and, as well as teaching individually and in groups, the tutors give performances themselves.
This event will bring together performers, tutors and students , in a single learning community.
The course provides first-class tuition and many opportunities to listen and perform. And, in keeping with GMF's philosophy, the course takes a broad view of music-making; the instrumental, vocal, rhythmic and physical disciplines together lead the participant towards new levels of understanding, concentration and awareness.
Morning workshops
At the beginning of each day at 0930, students come together to participate in a unique sequence of activities which collectively stimulate self-awareness and enhance creativity.
These sessions will feature a different combination of activities every day: expect regular workshops on pulse, vocal/body/breathing, samba, movement and coordination.
Pulse Training - by Stephen Keogh
Pulse lies at the heart of music, and developing one's own inner pulse is the goal of these sessions. The work fosters awareness – of the pulse, of silence, of the other members of the group. This workshop is hugely beneficial to musicians of every kind.
Samba - Francesco Petreni
A group workshop in which we train and learn the various different calls and rhythms, under the guidance of Francesco Petreni. The singers will learn some of the traditional songs as performed at the carnivals of Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paolo and from other areas of Brazil. On the last day of the course there will be a public performance during which we will bring the joy and the spirit of carnival to Kings Place. Every night at the jam sessions at Pizza Express, there will be opportunities to play Samba Cançao in a small group setting.
Vocal and Body - Guillermo Rozenthuler
The workshop explores the use of energy and the voice, and fine tuning body and mind coordination within a musical context. Using song material from all around the world we work at enhancing the quality of our listening skills and the sounds we produce.
Provisional Timetable
Thursday March 28
1600 - 1800 Arrival and registration at Kings Place
2000 Opening Concert at Kings Place Hall 2
2200 Jam Session at Kings Place in Hall 2
Friday March 29
0930 - 1015 Pulse - whole group
1015 Samba Training – whole group
1115 Coffee Break
1145 Instrumental/Vocal lessons
1300 Lunch Break
1430 – 1530 Instrumental or workshop
1545 – 1730 Ensemble session
Dinner Break
1745 – 1845 *Singers Corner
1930 Concert at Kings Place
2200 - 0000 Jam session at Kings Place, Hall 2
Saturday March 30
0930 Pulse/Vocal – whole group
1015 - 1115 Samba Training – whole group
Coffee Break
1145 Instrumental / Vocal lessons
1300 Lunch Break
1430 - 1530 Instrumental / Vocal lessons
1545 - 1730 Ensemble Session
Dinner Break
1745 - 1845 *Singers Corner – Foyer
1930 Concert – Kings Place
2200 - 0045 Jam session Kings Place Hall 2
Sunday March 31
0930 - 1015 Pulse/Vocal
1015 - 1115 Samba Training
Coffee Break
1145 -1300 Instrumental / Vocal lessons
Lunch Break
1430 – 1530 Instrumental / Vocal lessons
1545 - 1730 Ensemble Session
Dinner Break
1845 - 1945 **Singers Corner – Foyer
Jam Session Time and venue TBC
Monday April 1
0930 - 1015 Pulse/Vocal – whole group
1015 - 1115 Samba percussion – whole group
Coffee Break
1145 - 1300 Instrumental / Vocal Lessons
Lunch Break
1430 – 1600 Ensemble
Break and set up for Students Concert
1800 Final concert - student ensembles – choir – samba
*Please note that “singer’s corner” runs during the evening dinner break in the foyer beside the café and the bar.
A course for both Instrumentalists and Vocalists
All students will attend the morning group sessions, then in the afternoon (1145 - 1730) instrumentalists and vocalists will follow their own course streams.
Notes on the vocalists' section of the course
The part of this course designed for singers will focus on working as a large group. Various aspects of the singer's craft will be covered in classes that range from the study of song-form and lyric writing to issues of time and feel. There will be help with finding repertoire and guidance on working with the text in performance. Over the 4 days the students will also gain skills in chart preparation (including transposition) and how to connect with the rhythm section.
Whilst there will be some opportunity for singers to work on repertoire through the song class and a chance for them to sing individual songs in the evening, a strong component of this course will be the work done as a vocal group. In the course, choir students will be working on a wide range of repertoire, including Gospel, South African, Brazilian and Folk music.This course is ideal for those singers who are serious about improving their skills. A knowledge of theory and sight reading is not a pre-requisite for this course. Much of the choir music will be taught by ear. It is more important to come with an open mind, a love of jazz and a desire to improve.
Some additional details regarding the vocalists' course timetable:
The ensemble session will be dedicated to group singing led by Pete Churchill. Each day we will feature a different genre of choral music - some taught by ear and some from notation and the focus will be on the appropriate learning process for the music in question. For some this session will also serve as a master-class in vocal arranging. Group singing is an important part of the day. Learning to blend as an ensemble raises important issues of time and feel - not to mention aspects of intonation and diction. It is hoped that as well as serving to foster a feeling of community amongst the participants, each singer can also take what they learn from this session and apply it to their individual song performances.
The skills session will cover different aspects of the singer's craft. There will be a strong focus on the 'song' itself and through analysis we will gain a greater appreciation of the available repertoire. This 'skills' session is all about becoming more self-sufficient.
Song masterclass and singers corner offers the chance for all singers to take what they have learned from the Ensemble and Skills classes and to apply this to their individual performance. In a 'Master-class' situation each singer will work with an expert accompanist to prepare repertoire for either singers corner or the late night 'jam-session' It is in this session that we have the opportunity to deal with the practicalities of working with the rhythm-section including count-ins, intros and endings. Also there is a chance here to focus on the text, to talk about believability and how to connect with your material in performance.
There will be a master-classes where vocalists will have the opportunity to work with a rhythm section under the guidance of Claire Martin.
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