“Those that are either going through hardships or they’re super talented, we’ll make sure they have some money.” “We have relationships with a lot of people, and that has drawn students to us,” Brown says, adding that they have also done recruitment visits at local schools such as Firestone Community Learning Center and are working on obtaining funds to dedicate to scholarships. Their connections have doubled as a form of recruitment. Coles was previously a part-time professor at The University of Akron. They’ve both also been educators around Northeast Ohio, including both previously at Kent State University and various camps and private schools in the area, and they’ve both taught master classes as well. Coles, who graduated from Youngstown State University and The University of Akron with bachelor’s and master’s degrees in saxophone performance, also performs regularly and won a Knight Arts Challenge grant in 2017 for his “Nine Lives” project, an interdisciplinary piece honoring the lives lost in the 2015 church shooting in Charleston, South Carolina. Brown, a University of Akron alumnus with a bachelor’s degree in jazz studies and a master’s degree in piano performance, performs regularly, runs the artist residency program for the I Promise School through Curated Storefront and is the founder of the Rubber City Jazz & Blues Festival, for which he won a Knight Arts Challenge grant.
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The two plan to add a bass drum professor and a guitar professor to the faculty, and they also hope to add a course that focuses on the history of jazz and specifically jazz in Akron, including some of the notable players and musical pieces that have come from the city.īoth acclaimed musicians and composers, Coles and Brown have invaluable experience as professional musicians based in Northeast Ohio. Right now, Brown teaches Jazz Ensemble and Techniques and a Bach to Rock music appreciation class, while Coles teaches Intro to Music Theory. They plan to limit the membership of the ensemble in future semesters, creating additional ensembles and a small group with various focuses so more students can participate. “They have really rallied around this ensemble.” “The students here are absolutely amazing,” Coles says. The ensemble performs in both on- and off-campus concerts. There are now 25 students in the Jazz Ensemble, which is much more than a typical ensemble of 15.
“We’ve already been able to build it up,” Brown says, adding that although there aren’t any jazz studies majors yet, they’ve recruited music education majors and students in various other majors to take classes and join the Jazz Ensemble Coles directs.
The director of the program retiring and the impact of the pandemic led to a major decline in the number of students involved. “Working with each other to create synergy and collaboration,” Coles says, “that’s the hallmark of the way we want to teach.”Ī revamp of the jazz studies program was much needed. Teaching music courses as well as leading efforts such as the university’s Jazz Fest, the program’s co-directors have been reaching out to both students and the Akron community.Ĭonnecting with other musicians, artists and community members is the backbone of the program, and they plan to carry that through as it expands to more students. Since August 2022, they’ve teamed up to head the jazz studies program as full-time professors. Now, they’re bringing that experience and expertise to The University of Akron’s School of Music. From Blu Jazz in Akron to the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., Theron Brown and Chris Coles have been wowing audiences with piano and saxophone performances, respectively.
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