Laurie Antonioli, left, vocal performance instructor, works with students Rose Cristman, right, and Kyra Gordon as drummer Bryan Bowman and bassist John Wiitala accompany during private lessons at the former The Jazzschool Institute, now called California Jazz Conservatory, in Berkeley on Feb. 26, 2014. (Ray Chavez/Staff)
POSTED: 02/27/2014 09:11:10 AM PST
Berkeley -- The Jazzschool Institute has earned accreditation from the National Association of Schools of Music, becoming a four-year conservatory that can grant a Bachelor of Music in Jazz Studies. school officials announced Thursday.
In this new incarnation the Jazzschool will be renamed the California Jazz Conservatory, with the nondegree program called the Jazzschool Community Music School at CJC. The conservatory is now the only free-standing accredited university in the nation devoted solely to the study and performance of jazz music.
Jazzschool founding President Susan Muscarella made the announcement after a four-year application process that required the Jazzschool faculty to educate and graduate three bachelor's students.
"NASM evaluated our application by evaluating the progress our graduates had made," Muscarella said. "You can't just fill out an application and say, 'You know, I'd like to be accredited today.' You have to take a minimum of three students through your proposed course of study."
The original CJC graduates have now received official degrees retroactively in light of the finalized accreditation. The institution now has 60 students enrolled in the degree program for the fall, though Muscarella projects higher numbers. The maximum number of students it can enroll is 120, "with 30 to 35 in each grade level," she said.
"I'm interested in a small, specialized program. That is, I want to be the Julliard of jazz on the West Coast," Muscarella said.
The Jazzschool opened in 1997 as a community music school on Shattuck Avenue. But as enrollment grew and the school moved to its current, much larger location in downtown Berkeley on Addison Street, accreditation became an achievable goal.
"The structure of the first jazz school was very different." Muscarella said. "We catered to all ages and all levels, but that model became more for the aficionado, or nonprofessional. There was a depth missing."
Read more: http://www.contracostatimes.com/news/ci_25239898/berkeleys-jazzschool-earns-conservatory-accreditation?source=rss
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