2013-2014 MSUFCU Jazz Artist in Residence

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In October 2013, the College of Music launched a new Jazz Artist in Residence program thanks to a $1 million endowment from the MSU Federal Credit Union, the largest-ever investment in the college’s curriculum. The MSU Federal Credit Union Jazz Artist in Residence program provides one-on-one instruction, collaboration, and performance opportunities with the world’s very best jazz musicians.

This year’s residence included three jazz musicians, each spending a week teaching and touring with the MSU Jazz Studies Program, making stops at various Michigan school communities, and performing Blue Monday concerts at the MSU Federal Credit Union. Artists included Antonio Hart, saxophone; Jon Faddis, trumpet; and Jeff Hamilton, drums. Outreach focused on engaging with diverse groups to help inspire and strengthen music and jazz programs in underserved schools and communities. In its inaugural year of the program, the three jazz artists in residence connected with 7,850 students and adults in different communities. 

In addition to their exemplary teaching, the MSU Professors of Jazz are each preeminent in their fields, performing in concert halls and stages across the nation and internationally, with recent recordings earning critical acclaim and topping jazz charts. Utilizing their networks professionally and academically, MSU jazz faculty are generating tremendous buzz in the broader jazz community about the MSUFCU residency, enabling the jazz studies program to be more competitive with peer institutions in vibrant urban centers with well-established jazz scenes.

MSU’s Jazz Studies Program carries an international reputation that reaches from residencies in Japan to a significant presence in Detroit and the greater mid-Michigan community. Called “one of America’s best jazz programs” by Branford Marsalis, who held a week-long residency at MSU in 2012, the program continues to strengthen its reputation thanks to the MSU Federal Credit Union Jazz Artist in Residence program. MSU Jazz Studies continues reaching forward—to establish a significant and leading cultural presence in mid-Michigan and a national and international reputation as the premier blues-based jazz academic program in the state and nation.

To read more about the 2013-2014 MSU Federal Credit Union Jazz Artist in Residnecy, click on the links at left or below:

• Antonio Hart, saxophone
• Jon Faddis, trumpet
• Jeff Hamilton, drums
• Media Coverage

“This financial gift from MSUFCU is a true game changer. It’s elevating our discipline to a higher level educationally, creatively, and musically, and providing our students and the community access to world-class cultural experiences.”
– Rodney Whitaker, director, MSU Jazz Studies
 

“This generous gift from MSUFCU further strengthens one of America’s great jazz programs and provides unforgettable musical and educational experiences not only for our students, but also for thousands of people across Michigan.”
– James Forger, dean, Michigan State University College of Music
 

“We are so grateful for the ongoing generosity of MSUFCU to MSU, which has enabled countless people to access a wide variety of university resources. This gift, to fund the MSUFCU Jazz Artist in Residence Endowment, will have an exceptional and lasting effect on campus as well as in our community, state and nation.”
– Lou Anna K. Simon, president, Michigan State University