• 6/18/2018

The TUM JazzBand

Wanted: musicians of all sections

Jazz Culture at TUM – represented by the TUM JazzBand, the university’s own student big band: since the performance at the Dies Academicus 2017, the band (with its standard big band line-up with vocals) is known to be “excellent”.

The TUM JazzBand aims to enrich cultural life at its alma mater. (Photo: Paulina Vogelgsang)
The TUM JazzBand aims to enrich cultural life at its alma mater. (Photo: Paulina Vogelgsang)

The band started out only five years ago. A poster call in the summer of 2013 brought together a small group of musicians for first rehearsals. All instruments were welcome. What started off on a small scale soon took shape – thanks to enthusiastic founding members and the first self-financed instruments.

A fixed line-up of 25 musicians

Soon, things were really underway – especially since the first public performance, a charity concert for Ghana. Since 2014, the band (which is self-organized) is supported by a non-profit organization, and the fixed line-up consists of 25 musicians from TUM and the LMU. The band is managed by students of the Hochschule für Musik und Theater, and conductor Korbinian Bauer has been contributing his experience from (among others) the National Youth Jazz Orchestra of Bavaria since autumn 2017.

The band is becoming more and more established at TUM. Following the performance at the Dies Academicus, the band was proud to present its first own concert in December 2017: the “Sacred Concert” by Duke Ellington served as the centerpiece of a jazz-filled evening at the Audimax on Main Campus.

A vast repertoire

The former conductor Jacob Burzin founded the TUM JazzChoir especially for this purpose. In February, the TUM JazzBand was visited by the Edinburgh University Jazz Orchestra, which led to joint concerts in the Black Box of the Gasteig and at the Carl-von-Linde-Hörsaal.

The repertoire is not limited to the obligatory Swing, but also includes Latin, Funk, as well as catchy tunes from the areas of film music and Pop. In addition to the concerts, there are regular appearances at TUM events, but also outside the university and at student festivals – and things are still developing.

Once per semester, the musicians invest a whole weekend for intensive rehearsals and togetherness. In May, the band was able to benefit from a workshop day with the renowned music teacher Harald Rüschenbaum. Ongoing future plans include two regular concerts per year and musical trips abroad – as well as plans to finance new equipment.

Male singers wanted

At the beginning of each semester, the Big Band tries to find new musicians in all sections, and male singers are always in demand. All interested students and doctoral candidates from Munich are welcome. During the semester, the rehearsals will take place on Thursdays from 6:30 pm to 9 pm in Room 2100, Arcisstr. 21 – and as of autumn 2018 presumably in the StudiTUM in Garching.

The TUM JazzBand wants to enrich the cultural life at its alma mater, and will thus gladly provide musical accompaniment for events at the university as well as for external ones.

More information:
www.jazzband.tum.de
TUM Jazzband on Facebook

Technical University of Munich

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