By Charlotte Brookins

In November, faculty members of the University of Iowa School of Music went on tour—but not in the traditional way musicians often do. 

Damani Phillips, Curtis Taylor, William Menefield, and Angelo Stokes, four UI faculty members, and Brandon Meeks, a professional filling in for group performances, visited three schools in the south to recruit prospective students into their program. They stopped at Jacksonville State University in Alabama, then Morehouse College in Atlanta, and finished at Augusta University in Georgia.

Phillips, who was named a Yamaha performing artist in 2014, says tours like this are important for creating awareness about what’s happening with jazz at Iowa.

“We wanted to spread the word of our newly-formed jazz faculty and rising program here at the University of Iowa,” Phillips explains. 

Jazz Studies at Iowa offers two bachelor’s degrees and a master’s degree and requires auditions. Faculty and students can also take advantage of several ensembles that perform throughout the year.

Phillips says the UI’s program can be especially appealing to students of color, as jazz faculties are not always diverse at universities across the nation. At Iowa, students experience a full jazz quartet of color.

“For students of color, we hoped to serve as an example of what a diverse college jazz program that is reflective of their music and culture might look like,” he explains. “Seeing oneself in faculty teaching in the field they want to study, and the place that they choose to study, is a significant factor that is often overlooked in terms of importance.”

Spreading their passion for music and sharing it with students was a motivator for the tour. While on the trip, faculty hosted performances, met with prospective students, and taught master classes.

Phillips says he is passionate about the rich possibilities that are opened when jazz music is consistently coupled with its source culture—and when it’s presented as such in the classroom.

“Music is often taught as an entity separate and apart from its cultural roots, essentially fracturing the very essence of the music into something that is fundamentally flawed,” he explains. “Our program’s approach to teaching the music insists on complete unity between music and culture—which positions our program as something that is difficult to find duplicated at other institutions nationwide.”

The faculty aim to continue this recruitment tour, at least once a year, to different areas in the country.

“Reading our resumes and hearing our recordings online is one thing—but hearing, feeling, and experiencing the music live is something altogether different,” he adds.

For more information about the program, visit music.uiowa.edu/jazz.