Mountaineer Honor Jazz Ensembles

We will have three all-star student groups for the festival: a ten piece jazz ensemble and two small jazz combos! We are looking for 5 sax players, 4 trumpet players, 2 trombone players, 3 pianists, 3 bassists, and 3 drummers to fill our ensemble chairs. Chairs are filled on a first come first serve basis so don't delay. 

The audition deadline is Friday, February 23rd. All high school students are encouraged and welcome to participate. Please record yourself playing the following and add a link to the video recording in the application form linked below. 

Apply, Register, and Audition

Saxophone

• Option #1: Choose two contrasting jazz standards. Play the melody and then improvise 2-3 choruses over the form of the tune.  
• Option #2: Choose one jazz standard, play the melody and then improvise 2-3 choruses over the form of the tune. Either play a jazz transcription by a professional saxophonist, or a sax soli from a big band chart.  

Trumpet/Trombone - Play a chromatic scale from lowest to highest comfortable notes. 

• Option #1: Choose two contrasting jazz standards. Play the melody and then improvise 2-3 choruses over the form of the tune.  
• Option #2: Choose one jazz standard, play the melody and then improvise 2-3 choruses over the form of the tune. Either play a jazz transcription by a professional trombonist, or a soli or shout chorus section from a big band chart.  

Piano/Guitar/Vibes 

• Option #1: Choose two contrasting jazz standards. Play the melody (1 chorus), comp (1 chorus) and then improvise 2-3 choruses over the form of the tune.  
• Option #2: Choose one jazz standard. Play the melody (1 chorus), comp (1 chorus) and then improvise 2-3 choruses over the form of the tune. Either play a jazz transcription by a professional pianist, or a section of a piano part from a big band chart.   

Bass

• Option #1: Choose two contrasting jazz standards. Play the melody (1 chorus), walk a bass line (1 chorus) and then improvise 1-2 choruses over the form of the tune.  
• Option #2: Choose one jazz standard. Play the melody (1 chorus), walk a bass line (1 chorus) and then improvise 1-2 choruses over the form of the tune. Either play a jazz transcription by a professional bassist, or a section of a bass part from a big band chart.   

Drums 

• Play the melody to a tune of your choice on the drum set and improvise 2-3 choruses over the form of the tune.
• Be able to alternate four bar phrases of time and filling in the following styles:
• Swing
• Bossa Nova
• Samba
• Optional: Show your ability to play a 12/8 Afro Cuban, Funk, and/or Cha Cha grooves. 

Thursday, March 21, 2024

7 :30pm                                   Roger Humphries & RH Factor Concert  

 

Friday, March 22, 2024

9:00 - 10:00 am                       Roger Humphries Jazz Masterclass | A Talk on His Life & Music  

10:00 -11:00 am                      University Jazz Combo(s) coached by Roger Humphries 

11:00 am - 12:00 pm               Lunch Break

12:00 - 2:00 pm                       Student Combo Rehearsal Coached by WVU Faculty

2:00  - 3:30pm                         Masterclasses

• Piano – Alton Merrell
• Bass -  Paul Thompson 
• Saxophone – Jeff Siegried 
• Trumpet – Robert Sears
• Trombone – Hakim Bilal 
• Drums – Roger Humphries

3:30 - 5:30pm                           Student Combo Rehearsal Coached by WVU Faculty 

7:30pm                                     WVU Jazz Faculty Jazz Concert featuring Roger Humphries and honor student 

                                                 jazz ensembles:; ten piece little big band and two student jazz combos

WVU School of Music | Learn More

Are you a senior interested in music school? Please visit our webpage and sign up for an audition! We have generous scholarships available for undergraduate students pursuing Bachelor of Music Degrees in Performance with a Jazz Emphasis. We also have a brand new Commercial Music Degree that will be available starting in the 2024 Fall Semester. Additionally, we have students who study jazz while earning degrees in Music Business and Industry, Music Composition, Music Therapy, Music Education, Bachelor of Arts in Music, and Bachelor of Science in Music and Health.