Proposal for a Jazz Studies Music Minor

Submitted by the ARTP Faculty

What does art contribute to culture that could be of major importance? Its direct appeal is to imagination. It is this

primitive human power—imagination—that engenders the arts and is in turn directly affected by their products. . . .

The arts objectify subjective reality, and subjectify outward experience of nature. Art education is the education of

feeling, and a society that neglects it gives itself up to formless emotion.

—from Problems of Art by Suzanne K. Langer

Program Description

The Music Faculty within the Performing Arts Program of Stockton College proposes to expand

the music curriculum by offering a Music Minor in Jazz Studies. With a view toward creating a

high-quality music program that will include instrumental and vocal performance opportunities

for students and community members, this plan relies entirely on existing full-time and adjunct

faculty. The purpose of this proposal is to strengthen the current music minor by (a.) creating a

more focused structure for a goal-oriented array of courses, and (b.) creating an instrumental

music/jazz studies option for interested students.

Rationale

In its essence, this proposal brings integrity to our claim on liberal arts education. Without access

to the fine arts, our liberal arts mission lacks validity. Stated differently, the Jazz Studies program

buttresses and helps clarify Stockton’s liberal arts tradition. The program is not intended to

prepare professional musicians for employment, or as concert artists, but rather for greater

enjoyment and cultural enrichment in students’ lives.

In a recent survey conducted among entering freshmen at Stockton this fall,1 84% indicated that

they had had some experience in the arts while in high school or while attending another college

before transferring to Stockton. Their experiences ranged from performing in school plays to

participating in the marching band, choral groups or string programs, as well as taking classes in

drawing, art history and other visual and performing arts courses. More significantly, they also

indicated that they enjoyed these educational experiences and would continue to participate in the

arts on the Stockton campus if they had an opportunity to do so. In fact, students’ requests for

instrumental music classes resulted in the organization of a music performance club. Regardless

of their intended major, students expect opportunities to pursue the liberal arts at Stockton, in

addition to their degree programs. We believe the current proposal will address this need while

building on the cultural enrichment goals of the General Studies curriculum.

In addition to student demand, this proposal responds to a unique situation that exists in the

greater Atlantic City area that provides a rich context for developing music at Stockton. We are

fortunate to have a large jazz community that boasts nationally recognized musicians, many of

whom have become involved in the Stockton Monday Night Jazz Series, the Somers Point Jazz

Society, the Cape May Jazz Festival, and the Chicken Bone Beach Cultural Heritage Society.

Serving the larger jazz community is certainly one of our goals, but we also want to take

advantage of the rich musical culture and individual talents of jazz musicians in the South Jersey

1 Source: Richard Stockton College Admissions Office

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region. Five highly regarded musicians from this community already teach at Stockton: their

enrollments indicate strong interest among students and we would like to expand the involvement

of community talent in the new program. As the program becomes better established and as

student demand for courses increases we have a rich pool of well-qualified music educators to

draw from who are anxious to offer their experience, their knowledge and their talent to ensure

the success of the Stockton program. Thus students in Jazz Studies will have opportunities to

apprentice with professional musicians.

We also wish to point out that Stockton has always recognized its responsibility to the non-

academic community to provide cultural enrichment programs that lie outside the purview of the

casino industry. Dante Hall, for example, could be utilized not only as a performance venue for

Stockton’s Jazz Studies program, but would provide yet another opportunity for Stockton to

increase its public service mission in Atlantic City. In addition, the Performing Arts program is

anxious to interface with the Noyes Museum and the Jazz Studies program could contribute

significantly to that effort. Another, especially appealing prospect, would be to re-establish the

Summer Arts Institute concept by offering a Summer Jazz Institute on the main campus. This

could be accomplished by partnering with the Chicken Bone Beach Foundation, a 501(c)(3)

NGO.2 The Summer Jazz Institute would be self-supporting because it would fall under the

policies and procedures of the Summer School, but would not require a large investment in

faculty resources since most of the participants would be drawn from the larger jazz community.

We are confident that as the word gets out that Stockton provides a variety of performing and

educational opportunities for musicians to develop their natural talents in an academic setting, the

program will not only continue to grow, but will distinguish the College as a regional center of

influence in the arts worthy of the recognition it has already received in other areas of the

curriculum.

Curriculum Structure and Requirements

The program will be open to any Stockton students or community members who wish to enrich

their lives through music. These students will participate in a music curriculum that focuses on

developing their natural talents and skills while providing a creative approach to undergraduate

education. Through adjunct faculty support and two full-time music faculty we already have the

resources to offer a comprehensive array of courses, but we need the participation of permanent

part-time and program faculty to ensure consistency and coherence in the program as an

intentionally designed music curriculum.

The Jazz Studies core curriculum would require courses in:

Jazz History* [4 credits, 2000 level]

Jazz Improvisation* [4 credits, 3000 level]

Jazz Composition and Arranging** [4 credits, 2000 level]

Music Industry* [4 credits, 3000 level]

Electives will consist of applied music courses that may be repeated for credit:

Small Jazz Ensemble** [2 credits, 1000 level]

2 Dr. Beverly Vaughn has initiated discussions with the Director of the Chicken Bone Beach Foundation, Henrietta

Shelton, who has expressed a strong interest in creating a partnership with Stockton. We have already established

partnerships with the Somers Point Jazz Society and the Cape May Jazz Festival.

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Vocal Jazz Ensemble** [2 credits, 1000 level]

Stockton Jazz Orchestra** [2 credits, 1000 level]

Total: 22 credits

The areas of study listed above that are asterisked are currently offered by Stockton faculty; the

double asterisk indicates courses of study that fall within the expertise of current faculty but are

not currently offered. As the list shows, we need to expand the offerings in music theory and

composition, but we especially need to establish performing ensembles, both vocal and

instrumental, because these form the real backbone of every successful music program regardless

of its orientation (classical, jazz, world music, pop, rock, etc.)

Program Goals

While it is not designed to produce professional musicians—at least initially—we do want to give

Stockton students the best possible undergraduate experience, and this would naturally include

meaningful explorations of the human condition and of their own lives through music and art.

The Jazz Studies curriculum will help students to . . .

identify and appreciate the diverse styles of jazz music, a uniquely American art form;

demonstrate an understanding of the elements of basic jazz theory, jazz improvisation,

jazz history and performance styles;

participate in a variety of student learning and program activities at Stockton;

contribute to strengthening and expanding interconnections with the larger cultural

community; and

develop students’ innate creativity and natural impulses toward self-expression.

Resources and Coordinator

We have a very rare opportunity to create a high-quality music program on our campus. In

addition to two full-time music faculty, we have well-qualified adjuncts who are already teaching

in the music area. We especially want to take advantage of Dr. Michael Pedicin’s experience and

expertise. Dr. Pedicin is well-known in the Stockton community, as well as nationally, as an

accomplished jazz educator and performer and would bring name recognition to the program. He

created the Jazz Studies program at Temple University in the early 1980s, and he is familiar with

the mission and goals of the Performing Arts program at Stockton. He also worked for 11 years as

a music contractor in Atlantic City for several hotel/casinos and could figure into the new

Hospitality/Seaview Country Club initiative by offering courses in music procurement for the

entertainment industry. In short, Dr. Pedicin has the connections in the South Jersey jazz

community to make things happen, but we need someone to coordinate these threads--community

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resources, musical talent, educational mission--therefore, we propose to upgrade Dr. Pedicin’s

current adjunct position to a three-quarter line.3

Since critical elements of this proposal are already in place, our target start date is spring 2011.

As the program develops we can add individual instrumental and vocal music instruction (applied

music courses) through additional adjunct faculty support. We are fortunate to have a large pool

of well-qualified music educators in the South Jersey jazz community, many of whom are eager

to teach here at Stockton. This will be accomplished on an ad-hoc basis until the program gets

under full swing over the next few years. The College owns music stands, some sheet music, and

a few musical instruments, but these were purchased to support a concert band program.

Therefore, we request a modest budget of $8,000 per year for three years to build a solid

infrastructure.

The proposed Jazz Studies curriculum would interface with the Theatre and Dance programs by

providing ensembles for Theatre and Dance productions. In the past, when we have mounted

musicals on the main stage we have had to hire outside musicians; with resident ensembles this

would no longer be necessary. Careful planning now will translate into an enduring legacy of

outstanding student performances, faculty concerts, and Performing Arts Center programs that

will enrich the entire Stockton community.

To summarize, the Jazz Studies program will need:

a three-quarter line to hire Dr. Michael Pedicin as coordinator of Jazz Studies;

an annual budget of $8,000 for the first three years;4

continue current level of adjunct faculty support; and

access to appropriate classroom and rehearsal space.

N.B. Please note that the only additional support we are requesting is the part-time (75%)

position and the $8,000/year budget. All other aspects of this proposal can be met with existing

resources.

Since there is currently no degree program in music at Stockton (no music major) there are no

program courses that will have to be covered by adjunct faculty, nor will any full-time faculty

need to adjust their schedules. Therefore, we are not requesting additional adjunct support to

cover program courses.

Addendum

Finally, we would like to note that students who have the motivation and the ability to participate

in music-related courses at Stockton will have a competitive edge in the “weightless

economy”5—an economy in which intellectual property and technical capacity contribute to an

ever-greater share of the G.D.P.—because they will have opportunities to develop their innate

3 The estimated salary for Dr. Pedicin’s three-quarter faculty line is $68,000 - $71,500.

4 The modest budget request over the next three years will enable the purchase of a few musical instruments, sheet

music, and appropriate orchestral chairs for instrumental music classes. At the end of the three-year start-up period the

budget will be reviewed. 5 Tom Hochstatter, “The Weightless Economy,” Fluid Innovation, September 30, 2008, http://bolg.fluid-

innovation.com/2008/09/30/the-weightless-economy-a-white-paper/

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creative abilities. According to this economic model, the citizens of tomorrow will need to be

conversant in three critical areas:

1. the ability to use the Internet and networking tools;

2. a receptiveness to consumer demands and new ideas; and

3. all-around creativity.

We believe the creative tools that jazz musicians call upon during a performance significantly

increase the creative capacities of the performer; thus, participation in the Jazz Studies curriculum

will lead to a graduate who is better equipped to compete in the global economy of the future, an

economy that is predicted to be far more competitive for American entrepreneurs.

Thank you for your consideration of our proposal.

ARTP Faculty

June 24, 2010