Workshop/Masterclasses

The DMJO is populated by some of Canada’s most prestigious jazz educators. We take great pleasure in presenting informative and enjoyable workshop/masterclasses.

A typical session is two to two and a half hours in length and begins with an informal mini concert of approximately 30 minutes where we present some of our latest compositions and of course the great jazz soloists in our 19 piece jazz orchestra.

When these sessions wrap up we return to the mini concert set up and either perform more of our music, or listen to  individual students and/or ensembles in performance.

This is usually followed by a question and answer session that segues to breaking off into smaller groups. For example all the students in attendance who play woodwinds (saxophone, clarinet, flute etc.) would go into a separate session with our saxophone/woodwind section. Trumpets with trumpets etc.

The most essential quality demonstrated in these workshops is FLEXIBILITY (perhaps the typical jazz musicians greatest strength). We have the ability to do a quick assessment of every group of students we encounter and see what is that we can present that will really help the individuals we encounter to their best benefit musically, in a relatively short intense period of time.