This year, I attended UNC’s 14th annual Summer Jazz Workshop. As a student with no prior musical experience, I was amazed at how much I learned in just one week about jazz history, basic music skills and journalism. Despite a full and busy schedule, here are my four top takeaways from this experience.
Understanding Jazz History and Culture:
I am grateful for the opportunity to learn about jazz history in just one week! The intensive course load broadened my musical horizons, especially since jazz music is not as popular as other genres today. I gained an appreciation for the art of jazz and its historical evolution. The Swing era was my favorite to learn about and had the catchiest rhythms!
Interviewing in Journalism:
For the UNC’s course credit, students were required to take a journalism class. This was my first journalism class, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. My favorite part was interviewing fellow students, faculty or performers at the workshop. Andy Bechtel’s class has taught me essential skills and techniques to conduct a professional interview. I learned the importance of a good headline and caption, and it’s harder than you’d think!
Jazz through Student Eyes:
As a part of our attendance grade, we were required to attend daily jam sessions where students practiced for their end of the week performance. I enjoyed hearing about their love for jazz directly from the students themselves and witnessing their passion and hard work during these sessions. These students’ talent and knowledge in the field of jazz is impressive!
Reporting Live Experience:
For our journalism course, we had to report live from a social media platform during a live Latin jazz performance. This was a unique experience for me as reporting as a journalist takes a lot of skill. It was a great performance to report on as the crowd was dancing and grooving along to the live jazz. It was my first time hearing Latin jazz, and I was not disappointed.
Here’s a link to my Twitter page regarding more about the live event and my interview!