Jazz Intensive (Summer)

This Summer Intensive features daily sessions that focus on ensemble playing, improvisation, skills development, and jazz theory. The program accommodates a maximum of 16 players (8 per group) with one group rehearsing in the morning and one in the afternoon, and a mid-day shared Jazz Theory session.

Jazz Intensive

Explore jazz with daily jam sessions with a repertoire that covers everything from the classic small groups of Miles Davis and John Coltrane, to modern artists such as Pat Metheny, Brandee Younger, and The Best of Canada. Learn about jazz and improvisation through the lens of theory and history, and improve your playing skills, becoming more conversant with scales and modes, and chord structures.  

Intensive #1 (July 27-31, 2026) Funk & Groove Intensive

From groups like Herbie Hancock's Headhunters and late Miles Davis to the more contemporary music of Snarky Puppy or Robert Glasper,  jazz has had a decades long association with funk, r&b, and rock grooves, and rhythms from around the world. Come have fun developing your improvising skills over a jazz repertoire that is centered around the non-swinging side of the music, you'll feel it in your body and expand your knowledge of jazz at the same time!

Intensive #2 (August 24-28, 2026) The Music of John Coltrane & Miles Davis

Commemorating the 100^th birthdays of John Coltrane and Miles Davis! The ensemble will celebrate the music of these two giants of jazz by focussing on their compositions. 

Daily Schedule:

9:30-11:00 am – Performance Group 1 (90 min)
11:00-11:15 am – Break (15 min)
11:15-12:15 pm – Jazz Theory, History, and Composition (60 min)
12:15-12:30 pm – Break (15 min)
12:30-2:00 pm – Performance Group 2 (90 min)