Jazz Great Gary Smulyan to Coach Hoff-Barthelson Music School Jazz Students

The 2017-2018 Hoff-Barthelson Music School Master Class Series concludes with jazz great Gary Smulyan. Mr. Smulyan will coach HBMS jazz students on Sunday, May 6, 2018, beginning at 12 noon at the Jazz Forum, 1 Dixon Lane, Tarrytown. The public is invited to observe the Master Class free of charge.

Gary Smulyan is a four-time winner of the Down Beat Critic's and Reader's Poll's and a multiple winner of numerous other official polls including the Jazz Journalists Award for Baritone Saxophonist of the Year. He is a six-time Grammy award winner for his work with B.B. King, Lovano, Holland and the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra and is critically acclaimed across-the-board and recognized as the major voice on the baritone saxophone.

About the Hoff-Barthelson Music School Master Class Series:

Master class coaching by guest artists has been part of Hoff-Barthelson's curriculum since the School's founding in 1944. This distinguished tradition continues this season with a roster of world-class musicians and educators including theater director Laura Josepher, composer David Sisco, pianist Michael Boriskin, cellist Peter Stumpf, violist Chauncey Patterson, violinist Rachel Barton Pine, flutist Yoobin Son, jazz great Gary Smulyan and members of the New York Philharmonic.

Master classes are an enlightening experience for students and audiences alike. After months of careful preparation, students perform for and then receive feedback and guidance from a master teacher who challenges the student to think in new and critical ways about the piece they've prepared. The results are inspiring and enlightening and serve as a catalyst for students to reach new heights in their own musical explorations. Yet the learning isn't limited just to the students who perform. In point of fact, any student-regardless of their level of development or whether or not they even play the same instrument-can learn a great deal. As HBMS voice faculty member Jenny Hayden attests, master classes can provide powerful growth experiences for everyone in the room: "Young artists need to grasp that they have everything to gain by listening to experts of any instrument or the voice. A master class is an introduction to excellence-the musical enlightenment is transferable and inspiring. Any master class is an opportunity for a transformed perception of what phrasing, intonation and expression offer to the audience."

About Hoff-Barthelson Music School:

Hoff-Barthelson Music School has achieved national recognition as a premier community music school for its unsurpassed leadership in education, performance and community service. With a faculty drawn from the region's most talented teachers and performers, the School has long been one of Westchester County's most cherished cultural resources. Whatever a student's age or level of musical interest, Hoff-Barthelson's diverse offerings provide the highest quality musical education, personally tailored to his or her specific passions and goals in a supportive and vibrant community.

The Master Class Series is made possible, in part, by ArtsWestchester with support from Westchester County Government, and the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature.

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