Jazz Studies

MusB • MM • Artist Diploma • Performer’s Certificate

Purchase Latin Jazz Band performs

Jazz is thriving at the Conservatory of Music, where students and faculty collaborate on a wide range of projects.

Professional Mentors

Be mentored by an accomplished professional faculty. Take private lessons with some of the most renowned musicians based in New York City. Record on state-of-the-art equipment. Perform in a variety of venues both on and off campus.

Supportive Community

But the support you receive from a community of artists taking risks and trying new things on their way to becoming professionals is what truly sets us apart.

Department co-chair:
Adam Birnbaum

Department co-chair:
Pete Malinverni

Ready to apply?
Undergraduate | Graduate

Perform On and Off Campus

Students have numerous opportunities to perform in and out of the curriculum—in their repertoire and small combo classes and in big bands.

The Purchase Jazz Orchestra is a 17-piece big band that performs jazz from every era. From staples like Ellington and Basie to more modern works by today’s leading composers and arrangers like McNeely, Clayton, Abene, and Schneider, the PJO swings and is always a pleasure to listen to. Alto saxophonist David DeJesus and legendary trumpeter Jon Faddis lead the group

The Purchase Latin Jazz Orchestra is an exciting ensemble that performs music from all over Latin America. Featuring top students from the Conservatory of Music, the PLJO explores numerous genres, including mambo, cha-cha, danzón, festejo, and porro. Whether performing classic compositions by the masters or newer works commissioned for the ensemble, seeing and hearing the PLJO is always a memorable occasion.

There’s a Jazz club on campus with student performances every Thursday evening, and our students perform regularly at openings for the Neuberger Museum of Art on campus. Students also perform for various receptions and as opening acts for major artists at The Performing Arts Center on campus.

Off campus, we have established steady weekly gigs at local clubs. Many of our students also perform at Manhattan venues like the Knitting Factory.

Award-Winning Faculty

Our faculty members are all resident, which creates a stimulating atmosphere for the student, and our affiliate teachers are known to “drop in” on classes unannounced to see what’s going on and to contribute.

Current faculty include such names as Pete Malinverni, Jon Faddis, Todd Coolman, Kenny Washington, Donald Vega, Ingrid Jensen, and David DeJesus.

Our faculty comes from all corners of the music scene, forming a highly diverse and dedicated team of educators and professional musicians. They are members of notable ensembles, including:

Arturo O’Farrill Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra
Bobby Sanabria Big Band
Darcy James Argue’s Secret Society
Jon Faddis Jazz Orchestra
Maria Schneider Orchestra
Ron Carter Great Big Band
Vanguard Jazz Orchestra

Impressive Network

Your conservatory classmates in music and from all disciplines on campus form a reliable network. You’ll join an alumni base with prominent musicians from Jazz, including Cyrille Aimée, Bruce Harris, and Melissa Morgan, and from other programs such as Mitski ’13, Regina Spektor ’01, Dan Deacon ’04, and many, many more.

Meet more alumni