 Image by Ramona Borthwick
An Unlikely Symbiotic Relationship: A Unique Jazz Education-Island Resort Partnership
Derrin Kerr, Glen Hodges, and Bruce Knight December 2006
Imagine standing under a swaying palm tree, shading yourself from the blazing tropical sun; a welcome breeze off the ocean, helping to cool the 90+ degree heat; viewing some of the most spectacular land and seascapes anywhere in the world while waiting to go snorkeling on the Great Barrier Reef; walking on beaches that stretch as far as the eye can see; having parrots and cockatiels land almost at your feet; and all this to the sounds of jazz heard everywhere. Does such a paradise exist? Without question, yes! One simply has to visit Hamilton Island, Australia, where four times a year this jazz paradise can be experienced.pical sun; a welcome breeze off the ocean, helping to cool the 90+ degree heat; viewing some of the most spectacular land and seascapes anywhere in the world while waiting to go snorkeling on the Great Barrier Reef; walking on beaches that stretch as far as the eye can see; having parrots and cockatiels land almost at your feet; and all this to the sounds of jazz heard everywhere. Does such a paradise exist? Without question, yes! One simply has to visit Hamilton Island, Australia, where four times a year this jazz paradise can be experienced.
Since 2002, jazz students at the Central Queensland Conservatorium of Music (CQCM) have benefitted from a partnership between their music school and one of Australia's most prestigious island resorts. Four times each year students of the Bachelor of Jazz Studies (BJS) degree program travel two hours north to Hamilton Island (HI), a tropical island located off the northeast coast of Australia, to undertake five days of classes, interaction with faculty and visiting artists, and performances. For the students, a typical day on the island consists of a short morning training meeting, a master class, and an instructional session or group rehearsal with a national or international visiting professional. The afternoon and evening are filled with performances in the island's many quality bars, restaurants, and entertainment areas.
How much do students pay for this experience? As part of their contribution to the partnership, HI covers all related expenses for each of the 35-40 students, staff, and visiting artists. This includes, transfers, five-star accommodation, and fine dining. Additionally, the HI management often complements University funding to enable high calibre visiting artists of national and international repute to be brought to the island to engage in the project.
Birthed out of the symbiotic idea that teaching does not have to occur in the classroom and that holiday destinations are much more appealing if they provide educational and cultural opportunities and experiences, the main goal of the HI project is to provide students with first-hand performing experience that will better equip them to handle the demands of the industry after graduation. There is a strong expectation from both the CQCM faculty and the island management that students will produce professional results compatible with the island's standards. This serves as a constant benchmark that infiltrates all areas of the educational process and produces a variety of real world skills that cannot be taught in the traditional classroom.
On a recent visit, professor Michael Tracy, esteemed jazz educator from the Jamey Aebersold Jazz Studies Program of the University of Louisville, described the partnership in the following manner: "I know of nothing remotely like this type of cooperative relationship anywhere in the world. Certainly, jazz bands are hired by numerous commercial ventures, usually on a limited basis, and often corporations provide support of various types, but there is nothing like the corporate/education relationship developed by these innovative gentlemen."
Performances
As the most developed of the many resort islands in the region, HI contains private businesses and residences, as well as resort facilities and services. Among these are a variety of high quality performance venues suitable for the delivery of an intensive performance program. Small jazz ensemble performances are delivered at as many as seven different locations each day. Over four nights this equates to 28 gigs, and with four visits to the island annually, 112 separate performance opportunities. This scenario enables every student to be provided with valuable time on the bandstand, irrespective of experience level. In fact, first-year students deliver performances on HI within seven weeks of commencing study. This is significant, as performance training can tend to favor individuals of the highest musical standard or an institution's premier performance group, often the big band.
There are a number of important characteristics of the HI performances that make them a useful educational tool. Due to the quantity of gigs and their durations, each ensemble is required to play between two and four hours of repertoire. In addition, as ensembles are rotated through the island venues, ranging from informal settings, such as beside the pool, to the five-star exclusive beachfront restaurants, it is necessary for students to adapt their performances to fit each environment.
There are a variety of factors that determine how ensemble line ups are decided. One is the requirement of the island's entertainment schedule. For example, as a part of the partnership, the jazz department provides entertainment for the island's most prestigious special events, the Great Barrier Feast (international wine and food festival), and Race Week (international yachting event). Commonly, these performances take place in a more formal setting and include audiences of up to 1000 people. These events often require students to cope with the demands common to corporate gigs. The department is capable of providing music from a large cross section of musical styles, including specialty rock and popular music ensembles. Although focused primarily on the small jazz ensemble, the jazz department also has a big band, soul band, swing band, Latin band, and blues band. Having a more dramatic and widespread impact, these large ensembles are particularly useful during the island's special events.
Outside of island special events, the jazz faculty have the authority to determine many of the students' performance parameters. Prior to some visits, student ensembles are required to prepare a varied program of arranged standards and originals. Generally, these are presented in a workshop environment, critiqued and improved upon before performing on the island. At other times students are simply placed into a group and expected to pull their performance together on the gig. In this scenario, students may be placed with others of similar standard or mixed with players of varying abilities.
The audience
Being a holiday destination, HI guests are free to take advantage of entertainment and other provided events. Competitive style advertising for a built-in audience of this nature is not required. It is often sufficient to place the events on the island's activities schedule. The common practice that many mainland establishments have of focusing their musical entertainment over the weekend does not apply on HI. The entertainment requirements are the same from one day to the next.
As HI has a continuous turnover of guests, the audience is replaced on a regular basis. This, teamed with the jazz department's practice of venue rotation, means that it is unlikely that guests will hear an ensemble more than once in any given visit to the island. This allows ensembles to play a similar set of music without the fear of audience boredom. (Repeating songs in this fashion has been a practice undertaken by many of the great jazz players. According to Dave Liebman, the John Coltrane Quartet played the same set of tunes for four years, while on the road.) Obviously, care must be taken not to allow student complacency regarding repertoire assimilation. As with any music program, other performances, concerts, and class requirements ensure that this does not occur. But the benefits of providing students with an environment where they can become familiar and comfortable with sizeable sections of the repertoire has been an undeniable boost to the standard of the program.
The visiting professionals
Hamilton Island has its own domestic jet airport with almost 50 flights a week to and from the Australian mainland. This facilitates easy and direct connections to international flights and enables industry professionals to easily access the project. In 2005, the project included three international artists: Dr. Michael Davison (University of Richmond), Dr. Rick Holland (SUNY-Oswego) and Professor Michael Tracy (University of Louisville), as well as a number of national artists. While predominantly utilizing music performance practitioners, the project has also included music industry people specializing in sound, recording, and music business or other related areas.
Hamilton Island provides accommodation and meals for visiting professionals. HI takes advantage of the profile of visiting artists to boost the image of their events and activities. Once again, the partnership provides mutual benefits to the University and HI.
Professional training
In order to encourage ownership, and to avoid interfering with the learning process, the teaching faculty deliberately take a hands-off approach to gigs. Student ensembles coordinate all aspects of presenting the day's performances, including developing set lists, setting up and packing down equipment, interacting appropriately with the audience, and monitoring group and personal presentation. As well, student ensembles are required to elect a leader for each gig to coordinate with venue management throughout the performance.
Each morning the jazz faculty meet with the entire student body to discuss the gigs from the previous day. This is a great opportunity as many issues (both positive and negative) relating to gig presentation are openly discussed. These may include sound levels, solo lengths, management liaison, gear issues, audience feedback, etc. As a part of this process, faculty pass on feedback from the island management to the students. Visiting professionals also have the opportunity to participate in the discussion and relate personal experiences and advice.
With the institution of this process, the island has, in effect, become a classroom, with students acquiring and developing a variety of important skills. Michael Davison comments on the students involved in this project: "...the minute they get the call they will know exactly how to act ... these students will know about the professional side of what they do."
Mentoring
Mentor relationships have always been a significant tool in the training of musicians. In many ways HI's environment intensifies mentoring between visiting artist and faculty, faculty and students, visiting artist and students, and even students and students (their peers).
Although living in close quarters has some disadvantages, it is a mostly positive experience that encourages musical interaction that might not otherwise occur. In particular, students see faculty and visiting artists in a different light, as normal people who do regular, everyday things. Many students take advantage of the relaxed atmosphere by asking questions while sitting by the pool or over a meal. In a recent survey, over 80% of students revealed that they interacted with the visiting artist outside of the formal sessions. Of these students, 80% indicated that they had learned something musical from this interaction. These types of personal interactions have a powerful and lasting impact upon the young student.
Logistics
Each visit to HI requires a good amount organizational effort. Prior to departure, students are placed into ensembles, an equipment list is drawn up, a daily schedule developed, and travel times and rooming allocations are decided upon and distributed. Students are expected to make their own way to the ferry departure location at Shute Harbour, approximately 90 minutes north of the campus by car. In order to undertake the large quantity of performances that occur, it is necessary to transport four to five sets of equipment (including drum kits, PA systems, and amplifiers) to the island on a closed truck via barge. Moving students around the island is relatively easy as most of the performance venues are within walking distance of one another and resort buses service those that are not.
Curriculum
As this project developed, adjustments were made to the degree program's course profiles, descriptions, and assessment criteria, in order to accommodate the range of new skills being developed. While all subject areas are involved to some degree, the assessment for the island activities is primarily embedded in students' ensemble studies subject, and focuses on students' ability to adapt performances to suit individual venues and functions and present a professional product in an industry setting.
There are also a variety of non-musical competencies to be considered, such as personal presentation, punctuality, contribution to logistics, initiative in completing tasks, and liaison with venue management. The benefits of this type of training has been invaluable in bringing industry legitimacy and relevance to the degree program.
Hamilton Island
As an active partner, there are a variety of reasons for HI's management's interest in the project. Jazz is a welcomed change from the popular music artists that make up the majority of the year-round musical entertainment. Having 40 jazz musicians on the island at one time creates an intensity of performance that is unmatched at any other time throughout the year. According to Lee Huber (Hamilton Island Management), "Having this many musicians on the island has a positive impact on the island's atmosphere and ultimately enhances guest experience." This raises the quality and variety of the island's entertainment offering and also, perhaps even more importantly, provides a sense of culture that is not achieved from other groups of hired performers.
It should be noted that HI has not reduced its employment of other performers; in fact they have increased the variety and scope of hired artists over the last 12 months, and views this project as a way to build an ambiance that would not be achievable through normal artist employment. A further benefit of the commitment of HI to its existing artists is that these performers themselves provide professional input, both formal and informal, to the jazz students.
Regional support
This project fosters the talents of local musicians rather than looking to the capital cities to source all entertainment. J. Levy states, "Too often, local industry complains about a lack of skilled technicians but will not support the local program." In supporting a local product, HI is assisting in the training of people that may enter the resort entertainment circuit and provides opportunities to regional students. In fact, it has become clear from discussions with faculty from metropolitan institutions that students in the large city schools are afforded considerably less performance opportunities overall, and certainly nothing like that which provides the kind of intensive all-round training being developed on HI. Could it be that students will turn from larger city schools to programs such as CQCM's due to these types of opportunities?
Coda
Developing a performance program comparable to the HI project requires considerable financial resources for venue hire, event advertising and promotion, administrative staffing, as well as for accommodation, meals, and transport. Collaborative relationships with external bodies will be important to the future success of the music institution as financial pressures increase. The HI project is one such collaborative relationship that has enabled a performance program to be developed for all students within the degree program at little cost to the University.
The project has been driven by a few important principles. First, when dealing with opportunities, one must not only have exciting ideas but also a quality product that demonstrates potential. A focus of the department over the last five years has been the expectation of a high quality level from its students and the implementation of procedures that ensures that high standards can be reached. A common report from the public concerning student performances is: "I thought they were professionals." Secondly, mutual benefits will be pursued and supported by all parties. While this goes without saying, educational institutions are often reluctant to put themselves on the line and explore radical ideas. If we are to take advantage of an "improvisational" attitude, there must be a change in the way ideas like this are handled. Trust and professionalism go hand-in-hand in the business world and universities must not let bureaucracy get in the way of projects that have industry support. Lastly, complete motives must be clear and obvious to all. All we wanted from this project was to improve the quality and scope of the jazz program and to make it into something that was unique and world-class. With no ulterior motives (and with the above motto on the table at every discussion), our partners have always known exactly where we were focused and could see the ways in which our goals could be useful to them. This makes for frank and easy negotiations whenever philosophical issues or planning matters arise.
A truly unique concept, this unlikely symbiotic relationship has produced favorable outcomes for both CQCM and Hamilton Island. Currently HI and Central Queensland University are negotiating an expansion of the project that will offer further student performance opportunities.
References
* Davison, M. (2005). Personal communiqué, Hamilton Island, Australia.
* De Haan, S. (2004). Collaborative relationships, commercial connections and education exchange. Sounds Australia, Vol. 64, pg. 14.
* Hays, T. (1998). "Mentorship in the training of musicians: Results from a qualitative study." Australian Journal of Music Education, Vol. 1, pg. 20.
* Huber, PC, (2005). Personal communiqué, Hamilton Island, Australia.
* Liebman, D. (2000). "In Conversation with Lieb", Jamey Aebersold Music, Track 7.
* Levy, J. (1998). "Industry partnerships - why bother?" Motor Age, Vol. 117, pg. 124.
* Tracy, M. (2005). Personal communiqué, Mackay, Australia.
Derrin Kerr is a lecturer at the Central Queensland Conservatorium of Music, Australia, where his teaching duties extend to all areas of jazz history, theory, and practice. He is also director of the CQCM Jazz Orchestra, an ensemble that has toured and performed with many of Australia's leading jazz musicians. Kerr holds Bachelor's and Master's degrees from Michigan State University and the Queensland Conservatorium of Music, respectively. He is currently undertaking a doctoral degree, conducting research into performance training within jazz education. In June 2006, he was invited to present his work at the IASJ meeting at the University of Louisville.
Glen Hodges is coordinator of the jazz studies program at the Central Queensland Conservatorium of Music and is senior lecturer in jazz guitar and jazz studies. He also oversees the jazz bass and jazz vocal programs. Hodges trained both in Australia and in the USA at the University of North Texas, and has performed with some of Australia's finest jazz musicians. He has taught and lectured in both Australia and the USA, and is in demand as a workshop leader and adjudicator.
Bruce Knight is an Associate Professor at Central Queensland University. He has had extensive teaching experience in primary, special education, and university settings, and has conducted workshops and seminars for teachers and parents in the area of "special needs" education. Dr. Knight has authored/coauthored nine books, published more than 50 articles in scholarly journals, and is a Fellow of the International Academy for Research in Learning Disabilities. He is also the Australasian coordinator of the Strategies Program for Effective Learning and Thinking (SPELT), a thinking skills package applicable to all students from grades one through to twelve.
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