Jazz Viewbook - 2026

school of jazz and contemporary music

At the School of Jazz and Contemporary Music, you’re immersed in the performance scene of New York City, a global center of the arts and culture. Your training starts the moment you set foot on our campus in the heart of Greenwich Village. We surround you with a faculty of legendary professionals who challenge you to expand the boundaries of your art form, experiment with sound, and use your creative voice for change.

One of the main reasons young artists choose our school is our “artist as mentor” approach, which brings students together with NYC’s best musicians.

You shape your educational journey by choosing world-class mentors aligned with your creative vision. You can study different instruments and genres with mentors, an opportunity that enables you to explore diverse perspectives and refine your artistry.

Our project-based teaching engages you in real-world learning that inspires courage, creativity, and entrepreneurship. We teach you to take control of your artistic career. Explore our community, which over the past 100 years has fostered some of the most innovative music and musicians the world has ever known.

your time to take the stage

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and flexible program that includes a wide range of courses in the technical, conceptual, aesthetic, and historical aspects of jazz and contemporary music. The BFA program’s concentrations—Audio Production, Instrumental, and Vocal— enable you to tailor your studies. You join ensembles to hone your collaboration and performance skills in a broad array of genres. Through the five-year BA/BFA dual degree, you can

our degree programs

The BFA in Jazz and Contemporary Music is an intensive

combine jazz instruction with a liberal arts education, building a broad foundation for your creative future.

The School of Jazz and Contemporary Music also offers the the MM Performer-Composer degree. This master’s program is designed for musicians whose passion lies at the intersection of composition, performance, and improvisation and who are looking to deepen their skills at an advanced level. The MM Performer-Composer program is an excellent option for BFA graduates who want to continue their studies.

Parsons School of Design, consistently ranked #1 among U.S. art and design schools, has recently joined with the university’s three performing arts schools. Now students of all creative disciplines— music, drama, art, design, media, and more—can innovate and collaborate across multiple new forms of artistry.

Learn more about the values driving our educational programs at newschool.edu/jazz-proficiencies.

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your faculty mentors

Our faculty is made up of contemporary legends—awardwinning performers, composers, band leaders, and creative technologists who teach, lead ensembles, and develop innovative courses. They create a supportive and collaborative learning community, guiding you through your studies and the New York City arts scene. And they open up opportunities for your professional and artistic growth on local and global stages.

A few of our faculty are listed below; you can view the whole list at newschool.edu/jazz-faculty.

Julian Lage—Widely acclaimed as one of the most extraordinary guitarists of his generation, Lage is a multiple GRAMMY Award nominee, honored most recently with a 2025 nomination for his album Speak to Me. Wendy Eisenberg—A songwriter, improviser, and composer, Eisenberg uses their guitar to shatter genres and create new modes of performance.

Arturo O’Farrill—A pianist, composer, and eight-time GRAMMY winner, O’Farrill is a legendary Afro-Latin jazz performer and educator.

Reggie Workman—A double bassist and activist, Workman won renown for his collaborations with John Coltrane and received a National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Masters Fellowship in 2020. In 2024, the Mellon Foundation and the Jazz Foundation of America honored him with an inaugural Jazz Legacies Fellowship, a lifetime achievement award.

Jane Ira Bloom—A GRAMMY Award–winning saxophonist and composer, Bloom is a groundbreaker in the integration of movement and electronics in jazz performance.

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100+

Contemporary Music

awards won and nominations received

faculty members

by School of Jazz and Contemporary

School of Jazz and

DownBeat magazine 2025 Critics Poll

Music faculty and alums

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A Community of Creatives

The School of Jazz and Contemporary Music’s position as part of a creative community that also includes Mannes School of Music, the School of Drama, and Parsons School of Design—and its place within its university home, The New School—give you countless opportunities for collaboration with intellectually and artistically adventurous peers.

Many students establish lasting professional relationships at our school, laying the groundwork by performing together extensively during their studies and continuing after graduation.

Follow us on Instagram to see our community in action: @newschoolperformingarts. Or if you’re in the area, attend a performance. View our events calendar at newschool.edu/ jazz-calendar.

Hear Dean Keller Coker describe our university’s performing arts schools and explain what sets them apart.

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Facilities and Creative Tools Here you have the space to practice solo, rehearse in a group, and perform before audiences of varying sizes. The School of Jazz and Contemporary Music maintains 100 practice rooms and eight performance spaces. Our residence halls also feature practice rooms, including one with a piano. To help you share your creativity more broadly, we offer on-campus recording studios, instrument rental and storage facilities, and electronic music and audio production labs, workstations, and gear. newschool.edu/jazz-facilities

Jazz ensembles available to you

31% international students

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our academic programs

BFA JAZZ AND CONTEMPORARY MUSIC

The Bachelor of Fine Arts program has a flexible curriculum that includes intensive instruction and private lessons. The Performing Arts Core sequence introduces you to artists who guide your studies across a dynamic range of cross-disciplinary courses, while electives enable you to tailor your education to your interests. With a selection of more than 80 ensembles recast every semester, you’ll have the opportunity to play the kind of music you want to make under the direction of awardwinning artists. newschool.edu/jazz/academics Curriculum Overview The BFA curriculum combines required courses that immerse you in the fundamentals of improvisation and composition—theory, ear training, improvisational performance techniques—and rigorous music training.

Electives enable you to develop your skills in areas like film scoring and studio recording, using our campus facilities. Outlined on page 12 are the BFA program’s three tracks—the Instrumental concentration, the Vocal concentration, and the Audio Production concentration—along with two popular areas of study within them. Described on page 15 is the Performing Arts Core, a course of study that brings together music and liberal arts.

A full account of degree requirements can be found in the academic catalog; visit newschool.edu/provost/academic-catalogs to see requirements for a given year.

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students enrolled in our programs (215 undergraduate, 37 graduate)1

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1 Fall 2023 enrollment.

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Instrumental Concentration This concentration enables you to chart the course of your training under faculty mentors in the technical, conceptual, aesthetic, and historical dimensions of your instrument of choice (see the list of areas of study below).

Your academic path includes composition, improvisation, ensembles, and lessons, as well as electives offered throughout The New School. newschool.edu/jazz/bfa-instrumental-concentration Bass

Harmonica

Trumpet

Drums/percussion

Piano/keyboards

Tuba

Electronics

Singer-Songwriter

Woodwinds (saxophone,

Guitar (acoustic, electric,

Strings (violin, viola, cello)

pedal steel, banjo)

clarinet, flute)

Trombone

Vocal Concentration This concentration guides your development as a world-class vocalist.

Take private lessons from leading contemporary performers who become your mentors. Create your own study path with the help of faculty advisors, selecting the genres you want to explore or blend, the ensembles in which you want to perform, and the people with whom you want to work. Your vocal studies include instruction in composition, improvisation, ensembles, lessons, and numerous performance and collaboration opportunities. newschool.edu/jazz/bfa-vocal-concentration the new school 12

Audio Production Concentration This concentration offers a path to a BFA in Jazz and Contemporary Music while providing tech-driven creative and career opportunities emerging for musicians and audio producers and engineers. The curriculum focuses on DIY approaches and the role of the producer as a collaborative artist, enabling you to create work and interact with musicians from throughout the university’s performing arts colleges and the rest of The New School. newschool.edu/jazz/bfa-audio-production-concentration

In this area of study within the Instrumental concentration, you choose a private instructor from more than 50 songwriters—musicians like Machan Taylor, Marlon Saunders, Wendy Eisenberg, and Jean Rohe. Courses like Songwriting Fundamentals, Contemporary Song Production, and Laurel Canyon Ensemble (which explores the mid-1960s and 1970s Los Angeles music scene) help you refine your creative voice and aspirations. As a GRAMMY Museum affiliate, the program offers its students access to exclusive museum events at which students connect with industry professionals.

Electronics Area of Study In this area of study, you explore music created and shaped by digital technologies, learning with innovators like Ikue Mori, Levy Lorenzo, Hank Shocklee, and Ross Wightman. Your studies acquaint you with industry software and give you the production knowledge you need to create and manipulate sound. Working with ensembles such as Live Electronica Orchestra, Electric Miles Ensemble, and Futuristic Concepts of Music provides you with firsthand experience in this growing field.

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Singer-Songwriter Area of Study

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Performing Arts Core All undergraduates take the Performing Arts Core program—required courses and electives designed to immerse you in cross-disciplinary topics crucial for performing arts professionals, nurture you as a holistic and generative artist, and broaden your perspective. Required courses include The Whole Human Artist, Socially Engaged Artistry, Improvisation and Collaboration, and Technology and Experimentation.

Private Lessons Private lessons allow you to draw on NYC’s finest talent—performers,

taking risks, failing, and advancing toward mastery and self-expression. At the intermediate and advanced levels, you are free to select instructors from throughout NYC. Our program allows you to choose teachers specializing in any instrument, composition, or arranging. You can even split your lessons between two instructors each semester. newschool.edu/jazz-lessons

Minors That Let You Tailor Your Studies Minors allow you to explore subjects that complement your music studies, to acquire specialized skills, and to stand out in professional settings. Available minors include Audio Production, Economics, Fashion Business, Creative Entrepreneurship, and Sociology. Our full list of more than 70 minors can be found at newschool.edu/jazz/minors.

Check out what our community

school of jazz and contemporary music

producers, recording artists—and connect with industry leaders who can take you and your artistry to the next level. They guide you in experimenting,

is creating and performing.

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OTHER BFA LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES

Beyond our institution’s walls, New York City serves as an extraordinary classroom, offering countless opportunities to surround yourself with a rich tapestry of performing arts. You will find inspiration at every turn, from attending world-class productions to participating in gigs and internships that enable you to perform and discover professional opportunities in the music industry.

Ensembles: Where Improvisation and Collaboration Meet Ensembles play a critical role in your education, familiarizing you with performing and musical styles and helping you build connections with peers and NYC professionals. You are encouraged to form your own ensemble to experiment and blend sounds, styles, and techniques—creating something wholly new and bringing your creative ideas to life. We also offer more than 80 ensembles that reconvene each semester, letting you explore firsthand new approaches in a range of genres. Your options include groups ranging from the Charles Mingus Ensemble and Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers Ensemble to the Electronic Arts Orchestra and Progressive Rock Ensemble to the Afro-Cuban Jazz Orchestra, Gospel Chorus, and Indian Ensemble.

New York City: The Home (of Jazz) Advantage the new school 16

Our setting in a major jazz capital means that groundbreaking musicians regularly take up residence on campus, giving master classes, creating special learning experiences, and placing you into sustained contact with innovators in their fields. The current resident ensemble is The Westerlies, an a capella brass quartet in which alum Chloe Rowlands (BFA Jazz and Contemporary Music ’14) plays trumpet. The Stone, John Zorn’s celebrated avant-garde music lab, has a permanent residency on campus, providing unprecedented access to some of the greatest improvisers in experimental jazz and contemporary music and offering a place on the stage on student nights. Learn more at newschool.edu/jazz/ensembles.

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Partnered for Performance Our partnerships with venues around the city mean that you’re joining jam sessions at some of the greatest clubs in NYC, like Smalls and Zinc Bar. From your classroom you can cross the street to play at the Walker Hotel, perform on the High Line, or find yourself on a celebrated stage like Alice Tully Hall— all because of our school’s connections to cultural organizations throughout the city. newschool.edu/jazz-partners

Opportunities That Make the World Your Stage Our international partnerships expose you to new musicians, musical forms, and venues. Play in a quartet at the Bern International Jazz Festival; help produce a jazz workshop in Chioggia, Italy; or represent the school at festivals around the globe. Share your talents and forge new connections in partnerships and performances we arrange each year. newschool.edu/jazz-partners

Internships Internships in New York City let you explore all sides of the music world at close range and find professional opportunities. Our students have interned at organizations like the Mingus Foundation, EMI/Blue Note Records, Nonesuch Records, Jazz at Lincoln Center, ASCAP, VH1 Save-the-Music, the Bunker Studio, the Chelsea Music Festival, Le Poisson Rouge, and the Jazz Gallery. the new school 18

newschool.edu/jazz-internships

Our Gig Office Our program is designed to help emerging musicians learn firsthand how to succeed as working artists. Our Performing Arts Gig Office facilitates paid performance opportunities around campus and the city, enabling you to develop your professional résumé while you’re a student.

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BA/BFA DUAL DEGREE WITH EUGENE LANG COLLEGE OF LIBERAL ARTS

The School of Jazz and Contemporary Music and Eugene Lang College of Liberal Arts jointly offer a five-year curriculum in which students simultaneously complete two undergraduate degrees: a Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) in Jazz and Contemporary Music and a Bachelor of Arts (BA) in a liberal arts discipline.

This dual-degree program requires 90 credits of liberal arts education and 90 credits of professional music study. BA/BFA students receive a uniquely broad preparation for direct entry into a music-related field or for graduate study in areas including law, business, and the humanities. newschool.edu/jazz/ensembles

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Hear how the guitar and New York’s music scene—including the work of professor Nir Felder—led BFA student Tyler to campus.

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MM PERFORMER-COMPOSER

The Performer-Composer Master of Music program gives you the artistic, technological, scholarly, and entrepreneurial skills and freedom you need to thrive as a successful performer, composer, and improviser. One of the program’s hallmarks is its embrace of all genres and styles—there is no bias toward particular musical approaches. You’re free to invent your own unique creative practice, with support from faculty innovators.

The intensive four-semester curriculum enables you to immerse yourself in your studies and complete the master’s degree in just 17 months. newschool.edu/jazz-mm

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Curriculum Overview Your studies bring together composition, performance, and improvisation.

Faculty mentors challenge you to combine and transcend traditional genres, improvise in your own musical forms, and experiment with new technologies and platforms. The curriculum draws on diverse ideas, histories, and musical styles, including contemporary classical music, jazz, rock, electronic music, avant-garde music, minimalism, and improvised music. You create ensembles and benefit from the freedom to choose private instructors from a list of hundreds of New York–based musicians.

A full account of degree requirements can be found in the academic catalog;

Graduate Minors In keeping with our commitment to interdisciplinary scholarship and collaboration, we offer a number of graduate minors—structured study pathways that immerse you in disciplines outside of your primary field, expose you to new approaches to research and practice, and broaden your skills and career options. Master’s students can complete a graduate minor in a related field, such as Transmedia and Digital Storytelling, or explore other subjects in minors like Creative Community Development and Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies. newschool.edu/graduate-minors

Experience our community’s creativity on the Internet radio station run by our performing arts schools.

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visit newschool.edu/provost/academic-catalogs to see requirements for a given year.

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concerts by The Stone in spring 2024

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“ The Westerlies explore jazz, roots, and chamber music influences to create the rarest of hybrids: music that is both folklike and composerly, lovely and intellectually rigorous.”

—NPR Music

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mapping your new path in music

The School of Jazz and Contemporary Music’s faculty and staff strive to make your career ambitions a reality. Our faculty and staff are here to help you find courses, collaboration partners, and projects beyond the classroom that develop your skills and allow you to establish a life in the arts. Student Career Services staff are also important partners, helping you plan a path after graduation, find internships, and secure professional opportunities.

1,542 School of Jazz alums

Hear how trumpet player Lessie is living her dream by touring with the greats, becoming a bandleader, and giving back to her community.

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Alumni Groundbreakers Our graduates take their education and community into new creative terrain, reimagining jazz as a genre and launching trailblazing entrepreneurial careers.

A few alumni are listed below; learn more at newschool.edu/jazz/outcomes.

Robert Glasper is a pianist, record producer, songwriter, and arranger who has won five GRAMMY Awards and 11 nominations. His 2012 album Black Radio won the GRAMMY for Best R&B Album, setting the stage for collaborations with Kendrick Lamar, Mac Miller, and other prominent performers.

one of the greatest jazz pianists of his generation, Mehldau has released more than a dozen albums that combine genres including pop, rock, and classical music. He recently published a memoir.

Jazzmeia Horn is one of jazz’s most celebrated young vocalists. While a New School student, she performed at the legendary Apollo Theater; she has since recorded two GRAMMY-nominated albums and performed around the world.

James Francies began playing professionally while still a student, going on to tour with Pat Metheny and Questlove. As a bandleader, he has released two albums on Blue Note Records and was named the Rising Star— Keyboards winner in DownBeat magazine’s 2022 Critics Poll.

Keyon Harrold is a jazz trumpeter, vocalist, songwriter, and producer. He is both a staple performer at New York jazz clubs and a crossover artist who has performed with the likes of Common, Beyoncé, and John Legend.

Amanda Barise, a recent graduate, rose to national attention as a Top 14 finalist on American Idol, season 23, where she displayed her vocal power, artistry, and emotional depth to millions of viewers.

2026 GRAMMY Awards: 8 faculty wins, 5 alum nominations, and 12 faculty nominations

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Brad Mehldau began touring as a New School student. Widely regarded as

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Your studies at the School of Jazz and Contemporary Music unfold in New York City’s legendary downtown neighborhood, Greenwich Village. The Village’s history—which includes social activists who stirred the nation and virtuosos who developed new art forms—inspires you as it did New School alumni and faculty groundbreakers like Bill Evans, Jack Kerouac, Marlon Brando, James Baldwin, Stella Adler, and John Cage. Today the Village is home to dozens of small theaters, jazz clubs, and performance venues, all just steps away from our dorms and classrooms.

living and learning at the school of jazz

Your New Home in a Creative Capital

Housing Our residence halls and other university facilities are a short walk from your classrooms, giving you easy access to libraries, computer labs, and our 24‑hour University Center, which houses the cafeteria and the Performing Arts library. Our dorms offer a secure environment with facilities including free laundry machines, and residence hall staff organize a variety of social, educational, and cultural activities. All first-year full-time undergraduates must live in on-campus housing unless they meet waiver eligibility.

For details, visit newschool.edu/housing.

Financial Aid The New School’s comprehensive financial aid program provides competitive merit-based scholarships and need-based aid for those who qualify. All applicants, including international students, are automatically considered for merit aid. We also participate in government grant, loan, and workstudy programs. For more information on financing your education, visit newschool.edu/jazz/tuition-fees-estimator and newschool.edu/studentfinancial-services. You can email questions to sfs@newschool.edu.

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Learning Resources The New School’s extensive resources—performance and gallery spaces, libraries, XR studios, making facilities, computer labs, archives, and research centers and institutes—help you get the most out of your time at the university.

Public programs bring luminaries and new ideas to campus, drawing on the city’s place at the center of culture, commerce, and innovation. The University Learning Center (ULC) provides academic support to The New School’s diverse student population through one-on-one tutoring sessions and workshops. newschool.edu/learning-center

Health and Wellness The Student Health Service (SHS) team helps you thrive in the classroom by offering comprehensive confidential, culturally sensitive medical and counseling support. Resources include immunizations, in-person and telehealth appointments, individual counseling, support groups, and psychiatric care. Dedicated staff on campus provide services and can refer you to specialized and public healthcare resources. SHS also organizes wellness activities such as meditation classes, workshops, and stress relief events during challenging times of the year. newschool.edu/health-services

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Hear Andrés describe his experience blending music and liberal arts in his BA/BFA program.

university’s three performing arts schools—along with Mannes School of Music and the School of Drama—and is part of a creative community with Parsons School of Design. All of these schools are housed in The New School. All three are housed in The New School. This unique model allows us to offer three tiers of collaboration.

Within each school, students collaborate across disciplines with their classmates—vocalists with percussionists, actors with directors—erasing boundaries between majors. In the three performing arts schools, musicians, composers, playwrights, actors, and directors join forces, taking classes

a place for limitless collaboration

The School of Jazz and Contemporary Music is one of the

and creating together.

Across The New School, performing arts students can pursue minors and courses in every discipline, including liberal arts, design, technology, media, and management. We embrace collaboration with an entrepreneurial spirit. Discovery, rigorous practice, and versatility aren’t just words to us; they are at the core of the New School curriculum.

“ More entities are likely to gravitate toward partnerships with The New School, as this legendary educational institution looks ahead to an exciting future.”

—DownBeat magazine

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your next steps

Admission Below is information to guide you in applying for admission.

Regular Decision: The School of Jazz and Contemporary Music offers Regular Decision for fall admission.

Fall deadline: January 15 Transfer applicants can apply for either spring or fall entry.

Spring deadline: October 15 In-person auditions are available for fall admission only, with audition events in California, Oregon, New York City, and Tel Aviv, Israel. The School of Jazz and Contemporary Music provides an ensemble of current students to accompany auditions in New York City.

Audition recordings are accepted for spring and fall admission and are considered equivalent to in-person auditions for admission.

Email our admission team with any questions at performingarts@newschool.edu.

Learn more about admission events at newschool.edu/jazz/ admission-events.

The New School’s production of Escalator over the Hill was called a “highwire act of artistic bravery,” “a student performance” whose “stellar standard forced you to frequently—and delightedly—remind yourself of that improbable fact.”

—All About Jazz

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WE ARE THE NEW SCHOOL Since its founding in 1919, The New School has been a center of independent thought, dialogue, and action. We are a community that applies integrative approaches to global problems and leads the systemic change needed to make the world more equitable, more sustainable, and better designed for all. Today our university is made up of colleges offering courses in art, design, media, and performing arts and in the liberal arts and social sciences.

Get in touch and take the next step Contact our team, learn about admission requirements, attend an admission event, or make an appointment.

212.229.5150 x2 or 800.292.3040 x2 performingarts@newschool.edu

For important information including accreditation, student rights, campus safety statistics, and tuition and fees, visit newschool.edu/your-right-to-know. Published 2026 by The New School. The New School is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer. Photo credits: David Barron, Ben Ferrari, Don Hamerman, Hey Wave Media, Matthew Mathews, The New School, Jacob Arthur Pritchard, Revive the Cool, Martin Seck, Michael Kirby Smith, Phillip Van Nostrand, Cole Wilson.

This brochure is printed on FSC-certified paper with UV inks that conserve energy and material and do not release VOCs into the atmosphere—reflecting the university’s embrace of environmental responsibility.