February 18, 2004 -

Ottawa, Canada -- Drummer Justin DiCioccio, the Chairman of the jazz department at Manhattan School of Music, will teach a masterclass for jazz ensembles through videoconferencing at the National Arts Centre on Saturday, February 28 from 13:00 to 15:00 in the Salon. Admission is $10 for adults and $5 for students and seniors. Seating in the Salon is limited.

A masterclass is a one-on-one lesson given by a teacher to a student in front of and for the benefit of an audience. Masterclasses are of particular interest and value to music students and teachers of the instrument being taught, but anyone can appreciate and learn from them. The National Arts Centre uses the latest in broadband videoconferencing technology to link students and teachers in different cities for some of these lessons.

For this session, the teacher, Justin DiCioccio, will be in New York at the Manhattan School of Music, while the students will be in Ottawa in the NAC Salon. The three ensembles are the John Coltrane Ensemble from the McGill Jazz Performance Programme in Montreal, members of the Nepean All Star Jazz Band from Ottawa, and “Elements” of CUJO (the Carleton University Jazz Orchestra) also from Ottawa.

Justin DiCioccio is internationally recognized as one of the foremost jazz educators of our time. In January 2001, he was inducted into the Jazz Education Hall of Fame. His keen insight into the teaching of conceptual and inventive ideas has earned him the title of  “the musician’s teacher.”

Justin DiCioccio was appointed chairman of the jazz department at Manhattan School of Music in June of 1999, where he had been a member of the faculty since 1984 teaching percussion and coaching ensembles. As director / conductor of the New York All-City High School jazz program, DiCioccio continues his commitment to teaching the youth of today. His additional educational positions include, among others, clinician / educational outreach director of the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra in New York City and educational consultant concert programmer for VH1’s “Save the Music” campaign.

In 1997, he helped establish the Henry Mancini Summer Music Summer Music Institute in Los Angeles, where he remains a guest artist, conductor and teacher of improvisation. Mr. DiCioccio’s former positions include program director / teacher of the Thelonius Monk Summer Jazz Institute: director of jazz bans at Princeton University, and program director / conductor of the Tri-State McDonald’s High School Jazz Ensemble.

For more information please contact:
Jane Morris, Marketing Officer,
National Arts Centre Orchestra
(613) 947-7000, ext. 335
jmorris@nac-cna.ca