What does it take to build a great vocal jazz ensemble? In this engaging panel session, experienced vocal jazz educators share practical ideas and differing perspectives on many of the key decisions involved in running a successful program. Topics include developing a program philosophy, audition structures and priorities, ensemble size, rehearsal design, and the role of instrumentalists in vocal jazz ensembles. Panelists will discuss the advantages and challenges of large versus small groups, what directors should listen for in auditions, and strategies for structuring effective rehearsals. Attendees will also have the opportunity to ask questions. Whether you direct a dedicated vocal jazz ensemble or occasionally program jazz literature with your choir, you will leave with practical insights to help your singers perform jazz with greater stylistic understanding and confidence.
Building Great Vocal Jazz Ensembles: From Philosophy to Performance
Daniel Gregerman
Daniel Gregerman is director of vocal jazz and an instructional assistant in MTSS at Glenbrook South High School in Glenview, Illinois. He previously spent thirty years as choral director at Niles North High School in Skokie, Illinois. In 2014 he was named the John LaPorta Jazz Educator of the Year by the Jazz Education Network and Berklee College of Music. His ensembles have earned national recognition, including multiple DownBeat Student Music Awards, and have performed at regional and national conferences and festivals worldwide. Gregerman is a founding member of JEN and has served on its Education Committee and Board of Directors. He has also held leadership roles in Illinois MEA and ACDA. Gregerman holds a BME from Northwestern University and an MM in choral conducting and jazz studies from Western Michigan University.
Matt Falker
Matt Falker is a jazz and gospel pianist, vocalist, arranger, and clinician. Falker distributes his vocal jazz arrangements through his publishing company, Anchor Music Publications (formerly Sound Music Publications founded by Frank DeMiero in 1988), as well as the music of dozens of other vocal jazz arrangers and composers. He is also the executive director of the Vocal Jazz Academy, a nonprofit organization dedicated to training and supporting vocal jazz educators primarily through a series of one-day jazz workshops for teachers and students. As a full-time piano and vocal jazz professor at MiraCosta College, Falker directs the Downbeat Award-winning Frequency vocal jazz program and hosts the Oceanside Jazz Festival. He also directed the Jazz Immersion Choir at the 2023 ACDA National Conference and served as a clinician for the 2026 Generations In Jazz Festival in Mount Gambier, South Australia.
Roger Emerson
Roger Emerson is a professional composer and arranger with over 900 choral titles in print and over 30 million copies in circulation. He is the most widely performed composer/arranger of popular choral music and vocal jazz in the world today. His works include the choral arrangements of Josh Groban's You Raise Me Up, Season's of Love, from Rent, Defying Gravity from Wicked, Joyful, Joyful from Sister Act, Don't Stop Believin' from Glee, and most recently, My Shot from Hamilton. In addition, his vocal jazz arrangements of Over The Rainbow, Vincent, Blue Skies and I Wish are some of the most performed of all time. Emerson has been the recipient of ASCAP's Standard Award for thirty years running, and his works have been performed at the White House, Carnegie Hall, and the Kennedy Center. He is in demand as a lecturer on pop music, vocal jazz and the changing voice.
John Stafford II
John Stafford II is professor of music, director of choral activities, and music department coordinator at Kansas City Kansas Community College (KCKCC). A recipient of the John & Suanne Roueche Excellence Award (2015) and the Henry Louis Award for Teaching Excellence/Faculty of the Year (2020), Stafford has earned additional awards for recruitment and teaching at KCKCC. He previously taught at Millikin University, Eastern Illinois University, and Danville Area Community College. He holds degrees from Millikin University (music business) and Bowling Green State University (composition), with doctoral study in choral conducting at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. He serves ACDA as the National Repertoire & Resources Chair for Vocal Jazz and is an active clinician, presenter, and published arranger and author. Stafford directs The Standard, the award-winning contemporary vocal jazz ensemble from Kansas City Kansas Community College.
