The Conservatoire offers Bachelors and Masters courses in jazz singing. The Bachelors course consists of three years, while the Masters lasts two years.
The Bachelor courses focus on helping students develop the necessary skills to embark a career as a professional jazz singer. Students of jazz singing are set on an equal footing with the other musicians. The course has been designed in order to give students of all instruments essential skills in jazz music, while also seeking to meet the specific needs of a jazz singer in the 21st century. Thanks to regular classes in harmony, rhythm and reading, alongisde the particular emphasis on solo singing, the aim is to give all students of this course the chance to practice music in a wide range of situations, all the while encouraging the personal development of each student to find their own, creative identity.
Using the American Songbook as a starting point, the jazz singers gain the basic skills necessary to work in an ensemble. In addition to participating in this combinations with othe rinstruments, they also have access to regular singing lessons which aim to develop a more improvised approach to repertoire, and become familiar with being accompanied in a trio During their final two years of study, they are encouraged to widen their perspectives by exploring a range of vocal repertoire vocal by well-known jazz composers and lyricists. Finally, during the final year of the Bachelor programme they are supported in the process of making creative and personal decisions regarding the artistic direction they want to follow during the Masters programme.
Regular individual lessons with the professor of singing give students the necessary support throughout the course, and give each student the chance to work on repertoire and develop their improvisation and transcription skills.
Students also regularly take part in the jazz choir, thereby learning different repertoires by ear, and giving a number of concerts at the end of the year.
Every final-year evaluation is aimed at checking the student's knowledge of the repertoire they have chosen, as well as listening to their interpretation of the studies and transcriptions which they prepare.
The Masters programme allows each student to further develop their skills as a jazz singer, and to build up a more personal style as a creative and improvising musician.