Programs

Jazz Arts

The Jazz Arts program at Manhattan School of Music is one of the world's leading programs for jazz music.

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Our comprehensive program prepares skilled performers, composers, arrangers, and jazz educators for successful careers in jazz music.

Degrees Offered

  • Bachelor of Music (BM)
  • Master of Music (MM)
  • Jazz Arts Advancement Program (DMA)

Program Details

As one of the first conservatories in the U.S. to acknowledge the prime importance of jazz as an art form, Manhattan School of Music’s programs of study for jazz arts majors are designed to develop skilled performers, composers, arrangers, and jazz educators in preparation for careers in jazz music.

Systematic and rigorous conservatory training, combined with a myriad of performance and networking opportunities in New York City, make this program one of the richest of its kind for young jazz musicians.

SLIDESHOW: MSM Jazz Arts instrumentalists and vocalists

Student Ensembles

Every concert season, guest soloists are featured in concert with our large ensembles, providing enriched performance experiences for students. Recent guest soloists include Paquito D’Rivera, NEA Jazz Masters Candido and Dave Liebman, Randy Brecker, Jon Faddis, Joe Lovano, Bob Mintzer, and vocalists Jane Monheit, Roberta Gambarini, and Judi Silvano.

  • Studio Orchestra
  • Jazz Orchestra
  • Composer’s Big Band
  • LatinX Jazz Orchestra

All students in the Jazz Arts degree programs are required to fulfill their ensemble requirement as outlined in their course sequence plans and as assigned by the associate dean of the Jazz Arts Program.

Audition & Prescreening Information

Procedures By Instrument Type

Handbook for Current Students

Jazz Arts Department Handbook — includes information for current students on a variety of issues including ensemble and audition requirements, juries, recitals, grading systems, etc.

Plan of Study & Course Descriptions

Plan of Study: Jazz Arts
MSM Academic Catalog

Jazz Arts Calendar

2021-2022 Program Calendar

MSM Master Classes with Guest Artists

In addition to studies with our expert faculty, students are provided opportunities to observe, play for, and receive feedback from world-renowned guest artists!

SLIDESHOW: Photos from a Master Class with Grammy-winning jazz trumpeter and composer, Terence Blanchard

Success Stories

See All
  • Apr 15, 2025 Jazz
    Faculty
    MSM Jazz Arts Faculty member Caroline Davis is named a 2025 Guggenheim Fellow
  • Apr 9, 2025 Jazz
    Faculty
    Concert showcasing the Carnegie Hall arranging debut of MSM Jazz Arts faculty member Darcy James Argue receives rave review from The New York Times
  • Mar 17, 2025 Jazz
    Alumni
    MSM alumnus Jason Moran pays tribute to Duke Ellington at the Apollo theater on April 11

Jazz Arts Program Administration

Ingrid Jensen
Dean of Jazz Arts
ijensen@msmnyc.edu

JAN 2018 | Watch our teaser for the MSM Jazz Philharmonic Orchestra playing music from Clifford Brown with Strings and the Max Roach-Clifford Brown Quintet


 

Questions?

917-493-4436 | admissions@msmnyc.edu

 


Support for Jazz Arts scholarships is provided by the Louis Armstrong Educational Foundation

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