Berklee at Umbria Jazz Clinics

• Complete the online application.

• Decisions will be issued starting in early January 2018.

• Once application processing has begun, please allow seven to 10 business days to process your application. When your application has been processed, you will receive notification via email of the decision regarding your enrollment. Please make sure the email address you register with is one that you check regularly.
• Important: You must submit the online application to be considered for this program, even if you have participated in the program before.
• Remember: Please add bor@berklee.edu to your email address book to ensure that you receive your decision email.

Program tuition is 490 euros.

Your participation is not confirmed until your tuition payment is received.

Once accepted to the program:

• Students must then immediately proceed with the payment of the course fees. Instructions are at www.umbriajazzclinics.it.
• Please note that registration on the Berklee site and acceptance to the program does not guarantee a space in the program. Registration will only be confirmed after payment has been received.
• After May 1, 2018, students must first check with the Umbria Jazz Clinics office to ensure that there are spaces available in their chosen course prior to submitting payment. Please do this by emailing ujclinics@gmail.com.
• Payment of the program tuition fee of 490 euros can be made by bank transfer only. Please specify the name, surname, and chosen instrument of the student in the details section of the transfer.
• After the payment has been made the following items must be sent via email or by post to Umbria Jazz Clinics: (1) a photocopy of the payment receipt; (2) two passport-size photos with full name and chosen instrument written on the back or underneath each photo; and (3) the applicant’s personal details, including name, surname, date of birth, postal address, contact phone number, and email address. This information can be sent to us via email ujclinics@gmail.com or placed in an envelope and sent to Umbria Jazz Clinic, Piazza Danti 28, 06122 Perugia, Italy.
• As soon as the information has been received, a letter of confirmation will be sent via email to each student.

  Contact information: Ms. Giulia Truffarelli at ujclinics@gmail.com.

Performance

• Group Lessons: These daily one-hour lessons will address topics normally included in traditional private lessons. As a student, you will receive instruction in instrumental technique (tone, articulation, intonation, expression, etc.), practice habits, and other related topics.

• Vocal Program: This year’s vocal program will feature three elite voice teachers focusing on style, technique, theory, and performance skills. As a voice student, you will have the option to study the style of your choice. In addition, you will have the unique opportunity to perform with a variety of ensemble combinations, including the gospel choir.

• Ensembles: As a student in the program, you will have the opportunity to play in group settings with students of similar playing abilities. While the emphasis is on jazz, other styles (pop, rock, Latin, etc.) will be offered within the program. Ensembles will meet each day of the program, and you will perform in a concert during the final days of the event. All ensembles will perform onstage within the Umbria Jazz Festival circuit at the conclusion of the program.

• Theory and Improvisation: As a student in this program, you will be taught music theory and how to apply it to improvisation, performance, and musicianship. This daily class will provide you with a basic understanding of chord/scale relationships in direct correlation with the improvement of your aural skills.

Activities Open to All Students

• Master Classes: These will be lectures/demonstrations by Berklee faculty and guest artists (pending availability) from the festival on various aspects of performing, improvisation, composition, and personal experience. There will be a wide variety of topics and at times there may be group participation. Questions and group discussion will encompass part of the class, providing you with an opportunity to explore the artists' opinions and strategies for success.

• Jam Sessions: These daily "after-hour" jam sessions will be informal performances on the Berklee stage. These informal sessions will be open to all students.

• Graduation Ceremonies: The final two and a half days of the program feature a series of concerts in which all students and all ensembles participate. Concerts will be held on the Berklee stage and also on an Umbria Jazz Festival stage. Families of the students are invited to attend these concerts.

Special Guests

• Steve Wilson and Lewis Nash Duo

A limited number of places are available in a program track that would allow eligible applicants to take this program for one college credit at an additional fee of €250, for a total tuition cost of €740.

All applicants will first be considered for general admission to the program and go through the standard acceptance and payment process. In late spring, an additional evaluation will take place for accepted students who have indicated interest in the credit track. Those who are accepted to the credit track will be notified in June 2018 and will pay the additional fee at that time.

Participants who are accepted into the college credit track, in addition to taking the standard schedule of classes, will have an additional requirement for a final presentation to the special lecture group at the end of the program. They will be graded on their classwork and an evaluation of both their performance in the final concert with their ensemble and their final presentation.

All students will be considered equally for a scholarship audition, both in the standard program and in the credit track. All candidates will receive the same evaluation process for standard admission, regardless of their preference for the program track, so please select the option that is most appealing for you.

Three tunes should be prepared for the first day of the clinics, July 4. On the first day, the faculty will each host a workshop to get things started. The regular class schedule will begin on the second day of the clinics. More information about what to prepare will be sent to accepted applicants in the spring of 2018.

Instrumentalists

Instrumentalists should look at these three tunes and be prepared to play them during the workshop. The first two tunes are "Blues for Better or Worse" and "Some of Me" by legendary Berklee teacher Hal Crook. They are available here.

Note that rhythm section players should download a concert lead sheet. Transposed lead sheets for horns are also available at the link on the left of the page, and you can download an mp3 audio track to practice with. The mp3 can be with full rhythm section, or you can select no piano, no bass, or no drums.

The third tune is "Recordame," a classic jazz tune that’s a little more demanding, written by the great tenor sax player Joe Henderson. You can find recordings here and here, and find a lead sheet on the internet. Horn players should transpose their parts or find transposed parts.

Vocalists

Here are three tunes for singers. You will need to pick your key and learn the lyrics in English. The tunes are all easy to find on the internet.

• "All of Me" (Marks/Simmons)
• "Ain’t No Sunshine" (Withers)
• "Wave" (Jobim)

All instructors are Berklee faculty members, including:

• Matthew Nicholl, academic director/special lectures
• Jim Kelly, guitar
• Nick Grondin, guitar
• Fernando Huergo, bass
• Doug Johnson, piano
• Yoron Israel, percussion
• Jim Odgren, woodwinds
• Jeff Stout, brass
• Patrice Williamson, voice
• Dennis Montgomery III, voice
• Jeff Ramsey, voice

Program assistants will be announced at a later date.

Students are required to make their own housing arrangements. For information regarding hotels and apartments at special student rates, email alloggiclinics2017@libero.it. For better-rate opportunities, participants are encouraged to make housing arrangements early.

Berklee at Umbria Jazz Clinic applicants are given the opportunity to indicate on their application whether they would like to be considered for a scholarship audition during the program. We will select a limited number of qualified students to participate in a live audition and interview, where we will award scholarships to the undergraduate program in Boston, full-tuition scholarships to our Five-Week Summer Performance Program in Boston, and two full-tuition scholarships to Berklee Online classes. All scholarship decisions will be based on students' demonstrated performance in the live audition and interview process.

The Berklee Admissions Office will review students based on the performance materials they submitted as part of their application to the program and select 50 who will be notified via email of their 15-minute live audition and 15-minute interview appointment one week prior to the program start. A listing/schedule of those students selected to participate will also be posted in the program office at the beginning of the program. Berklee faculty will observe the students during the first week of the program and nominate 10 additional students who they feel are performing well to be scheduled for an audition. 

Complete details about the audition and interview process will be published in early 2018.

Perugia, Italy:
Giulia Truffarelli
c/o Segreteria
Associazione Umbria Jazz Clinics
Piazza Danti, 28
06122 Perugia, Italy
tel. +39 075 5724838
cell.+39 333 9820803 
fax. +39 075 5722656
Hours: Monday–Friday, 10:00 a.m.–1:00 p.m. (UTC)
ujclinics@gmail.com
www.umbriajazzclinics.it

Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.:
Berklee College of Music
1140 Boylston St.
Boston, MA 02215
Office of Global Initiatives
+1 617-747-2700
Hours: Monday–Friday, 9:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m. (EST)
bor@berklee.edu