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Jazz On Campus
School Notes
Berklee student Dave Chapman
Niles North Vocal Jazz Program
sam lutomia
Niles North Celebrates 20 Years of Vocal Jazz
More than 90 languages are spoken across
the school district that houses Niles
North High School. But over the past 20 years,
one common language has resonated above all
others—and that language is vocal jazz.
Since 1991, the Skokie, Ill., high school’s
vocal jazz program has grown from one small
group to three ensembles with a growing international
reputation. But to current members and
former students, the program is still a family.
In May, “family members” packed the school
auditorium for a three-hour, 20th anniversary
celebration.
The event showcased all three groups, concluding
with an onstage performance of Kirby
Shaw’s arrangement of “Bridge Over Troubled
Water” by 130 current members and alumni.
That version of “Bridge” is the most recent
milestone of Director Daniel Gregerman’s
efforts to build one of the nation’s top high
school vocal jazz programs. Gregerman started
developing interest in teaching vocal jazz
while getting his master’s degree at Western
Michigan University. When he began teaching
choir at Niles North in 1991, the entire choral
program had just 32 students, prompting him to
revamp it.
“I realized that the school choral program
was in dire need of being rebuilt,” Gregerman
said. “As I started designing the program, I knew
there was going to be a need for students to sing
in a setting that allowed jazz, pop, rock, etc.”
He began expanding choir repertoire during
regular class time and also launched an extracurricular
vocal jazz program. “My feelings
were confirmed that vocal jazz was a vital part
of a comprehensive choral program,” he said.
“So I started on that immediately when I began
at Niles North.”
The school’s first vocal jazz group, Take
One, began with a dozen singers and Gregerman
accompanying on piano. The group’s popularity
skyrocketed to the point that Gregerman found
himself turning students away.
To solve the problem, he formed Sound
Check in 1996 and—due to a continued surplus
of interested vocalists—added Harmonic
Motion in 2007.
“I’ve always believed in giving students as
many opportunities as possible,” he said.
While Gregerman continues to direct Take
One, he’s recruited alumni to direct the other
two ensembles—currently, Logan Farris and
Clara Wong direct Sound Check and Harmonic
Motion.
Gregerman treats the ensembles like professional
singing groups with serious rehearsal
time and tour schedules. Take One and Sound
Check have been invited to perform at Western
Michigan’s Gold Company Invitational Vocal
Jazz Festival, and all three groups tour to the
Millikin University Vocal Jazz Festival.
Internationally, Take One has toured
Denmark, Germany, Mexico, Sweden, and
Switzerland. In Switzerland, the group was the
only high school vocal jazz ensemble chosen
to perform at the 33rd annual Montreux
Jazz Festival. The group has also been honored
by DownBeat, receiving four Student Music
Awards in the past decade.
“The skills and confidence I gained through
doing vocal jazz strongly influenced my choice
to pursue a career in the performing arts,” said
Julie Burt Nichols, a former member of Take
One in the 1990s. The Chicago-based musical
theater actor directly relates her career skills to
the ones she developed in Take One.
As the program celebrates its 20th anniversary,
Gregerman still said the program “does
not seem to be slowing down.”
“We still need to turn people away at auditions
each year,” he said. —Stephanie Drucker
Stephanie Drucker
World Music: Students from Berklee College
of Music along with Newton North and
Needham High Schools participated in a Kenyan
cultural exchange program from June 24
to July 15. In partnership with local organization
Global Youth Groove (GYG), participants
spent two weeks in Kakamega, western Kenya,
where they taught music lessons, gave
additional workshops and learned about
traditional Kenyan music. They also donated
a full ensemble setup and eight MacBook
Pros to a local community center.
Indie Prophecy: In other Berklee news,
student-run label Jazz Revelation Records
(JRR) recently released Oracle, its eighth
album. The CD showcases original compositions
by top Berklee players from such
countries as Cuba, Israel, Italy, Mozambique,
Norway and the United States. The album
also features Habana Entrance, led by
Dayramir Gonzalez, the first resident of Cuba
to be awarded a full Berklee scholarship.
Details: berklee.edu
Revue Album: KPLU 88.5 has released
KPLU School of Jazz-Volume 7, a compilation
CD of Western Washington state’s best
high school bands. The project stemmed
from the radio station’s partnership with
local high schools and middle schools for
its jazz mentorship program. The album
also includes such guest artists as David
Marriott, Chad McCullough and Jay
Thomas. All proceeds benefit Western
Washington state’s school music programs.
Details: kplu.org
Class Act: On Sept. 11, New York-based
vocalist Fay Victor hosted a Jazzschool
master class that explores creative jazz
vocalization techniques. During the daylong
workshop, Victor used her own repertoire
to demonstrate how sheet music is interpreted.
In addition to directing exercises
in lyric writing and collaboration, she
also allowed students to develop their own
material.
Details: jazzschool.edu
70 DOWNBEAT SEPTEMBER 2011