You might not be ready to quit your day-job yet, but University College at Fairfield University wants to immerse adults who are avid musicians in a professional working atmosphere designed to stimulate new musical ideas.

The Jazz, Rock & Blues Workshop founded by renowned bassist and composer Brian Torff, introduces workshop participants to techniques designed to improve the musical vocabulary, enhance performance skills and get lost in THE music for the July 18-20 weekend. The workshop concludes with a studio session that produces a CD. Tuition is $750 and the registration deadline is July 9.

For this debut workshop, Torff has assembled a top-notch group of professional musicians that will play with and finally accompany the participants in a recording session on the last day. The weekend schedule includes band practice, master classes, basic music theory and improvisation. Perhaps the most unique feature of this innovative workshop is accessibility to and development of a collegial relationship with musicians who consistently perform and jam in clubs and at festivals throughout the United States and abroad.

In addition, nearby Fairfield Theatre Company, noted for its impressive schedule of concert performers, has partnered with University College and Torff who is a member of the FTC Advisory Committee, to offer workshop participants a special FTC member admission price of $32 to see the legendary blues veteran John Hammond and the five-piece powerhouse Duke Robillard Band on Saturday, July 19 at 7:30 p.m. FTC concerts are often sold out and tickets are at a premium. More information about FTC is available on the website at www.fairfieldtheatre.org.

For musicians who have been playing their instrument for five years or more and are hungry to concentrate all available energy on achieving a new level of musical development, the Jazz, Rock & Blues Workshop provides a relaxed space in which to focus and explore with like-minded musicians.

Tuition includes lunches with the staff on Saturday and Sunday. Participants are free to explore the area for breakfast and dinner. For further information, please call (203) 254-4110 or visit www.fairfield.edu/uc

Posted On: 06-12-2008 10:06 AM

Volume: 40 Number: 279