Students in the Spotlight

KU Jazz Ensemble I Honored by DownBeat and Jazz at Lincoln Center

KU Jazz Ensemble I, under the direction of Dan Gailey, was recognized with the Graduate College Outstanding Performance honor in the category of large jazz ensembles in the 45th Annual DownBeat Student Music Awards.

DownBeat released the results of the awards on, May 5, and published them in its June issue. As one of the world’s leading jazz and contemporary music publications, DownBeat announces its Student Music Awards annually. Students and educators nominate themselves in an open call for recorded performances and applications, and winners are selected from more than 1,000 entries.

Under Gailey’s leadership, the KU Jazz Studies Program has received 29 DownBeat Student Music Awards since 1992.

The DownBeat Student Music Awards are considered the most prestigious awards in jazz education. Since its founding in 1976, hundreds of musicians, music educators and music industry professionals received their first international recognition as DownBeat Student Music Award winners.

“This is the third time in the past four years that Jazz Ensemble I has received a DownBeat Award,” Gailey said. “Combined with the honors they received at the Rudin Jazz Championship, this is a testament to the continued excellence in our program and the exceptional work that our studio faculty does with our students.”

KU Jazz Ensemble I was one of 10 college big bands invited to participate in the 2022 Rudin Jazz Championship at Jazz at Lincoln Center on April 19 and 20. The schools chosen for the event and invited by JALC Artistic Director Wynton Marsalis are among the most well-regarded jazz programs in the nation.

Following their daytime performance in the competition, the band was chosen as one of five finalists to perform again that evening. At the end of the evening, Marsalis and the other four judges presented KU with the following awards: • Earl Hines Outstanding Musician Award (presented to the most outstanding musician on any instrument at the championship):

Keegan Kaiser, alto saxophone • Outstanding Alto Saxophonist: Keegan Kaiser • Outstanding Guitarist: John Fraka • Honorable Mention—Outstanding

Trombonist: Colin Wreath • Outstanding Brass Section: University of Kansas

KU School of Music student nabs First and Grand Prize at international competition

The KU School of Music congratulates student Yi Chang, who recently received First Prize and the Grand Prize for Best Performance of the Required Work at the International Young Artist Piano Competition (IYAPC). The competition, based in Washington, DC, was held online in 2022 from June 23 – 26.

A student of Professor Scott McBride Smith, Chang is a third-year DMA student in piano performance and pedagogy. As part of the prize, he held a recital at Catholic University in Washington, DC in August.

Student performs at major percussion event

Luke Helker, a current DMA student in Percussion, was awarded Student Opportunity Funds to present and perform at this year’s Percussive Arts Society International Convention (PASIC). The Percussive Arts Society (PAS) is the main organization for all things percussion related and PASIC is one of the largest drum & percussion events in the world. It features concerts, clinics, panels and presentations from artists all over the world in all areas of percussion: drum set, marching, keyboard, symphonic, world, education, technology, and health & wellness, to name a few.

Luke’s performance specifically will be part of the “Focus Day” events. Every year the New Music/Research committee chooses a theme to focus on for the first day of the festival. This year’s theme is “the modern percussionist” and several of the performances will include world premieres, repertoire from underrepresented composers, pieces with a specific social or cultural message, etc. Luke will perform Daijana Wallace’s piece “Reduce, Reuse, Recycle” for percussion and cello. Luke commissioned this piece several years ago and this performance will also feature KU alum James Alexander on the cello.