Erasmus+ BiP "Crossing Boundaries between Classic and Jazz"

The conservatory “Friedrich Gulda School of Music Wien” (ERASMUS A WIEN77) will host the Blended Intensive Program

“Crossing Boundaries between Classic and Jazz”

19th-24th of May 2025 

This international BIP brings together students from six institutions to explore the intersections of classical and jazz music.

The program includes lectures, workshops, rehearsals, and will culminate in a public livestreamed concert featuring a collaborative performance of “In C”— a key work by Terry Riley. Here is everything you need to know about the final concert. INFO CONCERT

You will soon be able to find the complete program here.

BIP goals:

1. Explore and perform repertoire that blends classical and jazz styles
2. Take part in masterclasses with renowned classical and jazz musicians
3. Develop practical and pedagogical strategies for genre-crossing musical collaboration
4. Strengthen ensemble skills in an intercultural and interdisciplinary setting

Tutors

Monika Herzig

In 1987, the pedagogical institute in Weingarten, Germany awarded a scholarship for a one-year exchange program at the University of Alabama to one of their students, jazz pianist Monika Herzig. Together with her partner and guitarist Peter Kienle, she arrived in the States on a one-way ticket, with one suitcase of belongings and one guitar in August 1988.

Since then she has completed her Doctorate in Music Education and Jazz Studies at Indiana University, where she taught for three decades. She is the author of David Baker – A Legacy in Music, published in 2011 by IU Press,  Experiencing Chick Corea with Rowman & Littlefield, 2017, co-editor of Jazz and Gender (Routledge, 2022) and the previous editor of Jazz Education in Research and Practice (IU Press). Currently she is Professor of Artistic Research at the Jam Music Lab Private University, Vienna. She is the host of Talking Jazz, a radio program/ podcast broadcast weekly on WICR and WETF, as well as on podcast services and youtube.

 As a touring jazz artist, she has performed at many prestigious jazz clubs and festivals, such as the Canaris Mas Jazz Festival, Jazz Tales Festival, Women in Jazz Festival, Indy Jazz Fest, , the W.C.Handy Festival, to name just a few. Groups under her leadership have toured the US, Europe, and Japan, opened for acts such as Tower of Power, Sting, the Dixie Dregs, Yes, and more.

She has released more than a dozen CDs under her leadership on her own ACME Records as well as Owl Studios, Whaling City Sound, Jazz Urbane, and Savant.  Her awards include a 1994 Down Beat Magazine Award for Best Original Song, a Jazz Journalist Association Hero 2015 award, as well as grants from the NEA, the Indiana Arts Commission, MEIEA, Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation, Chamber Music America, Indiana University, among others. Her project “SHEROES” (Whaling City Sound, Savant) features the world’s leading female jazz instrumentalists including Leni Stern, Jamie Baum, Jennifer Vincent, Rosa Avila, Mayra Casales, Reut Regev, Ada Rovatti, and Ingrid Jensen and was featured on NPR’s Here and Now as well as cited as one of the best releases of 2018 in DownBeat Magazine, placing #31 on the year-end Jazz Week Charts. Thomas Garner from Garageradio.com writes, “I was totally awed by the fine musicianship throughout”

Maja Jaku

Maja Jaku, born on October 24 in Mitrovica (Kosovo), comes from an artistic family. Her father, Ljuba Jakupovic, was a jazz trumpeter and painter, and her grandfather was an opera singer. At the age of seven, she won her first prizes at children's music festivals. By the age of 14, she had formed her first band. In 1991, due to political unrest, she fled to Austria and began studying jazz vocals at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Graz with renowned artists such as Mark Murphy, Andy Bey, Sheila Jordan, and Jay Clayton.

From 1991 to 1999, she worked with her trio and performed at various jazz festivals. In 1995, she collaborated with the Austrian fusion band "Attack." Between 1996 and 1999, she played lead roles in the musicals Hair and Godspell at the Graz Opera and Next Liberty. In 1997, she founded her first band under her own name. In 2002, she released her debut album Talking Jazzik with well-known Austrian musicians such as Fritz Pauer, Ewald Oberleitner, and Karlheinz Miklin. This was followed by numerous concerts and positive reviews. In 2006, she released her second album Message, featuring original songs and American drummer Johnathan Blake. In 2013 came The Universe Makes No Mistakes, produced by Ty Macklin, which blends Neo Soul and New Jazz. In 2018, she signed a contract with Universal Music Austria and released the single Cross My Heart, produced by Alex Deutsch. The track featured internationally renowned musicians such as Scott Kinsey (keys), Matthieu Michel (trumpet), Stephan Kondert (bass), and Alex Deutsch (drums).

In 2022, she released her fourth album Soul Searching, recorded at the ORF Studio in Vienna with musicians including Jim Rotondi (trumpet), Thomas Kugi (saxophone), Saša Mutić (piano), Dušan Simović (bass), and Joris Dudli (drums). The album received positive international reviews and was played on radio stations in Switzerland, Austria, Japan, Poland, Belgium, Germany, China, and Italy. In 2025, she will release her new album The Witch, recorded at the Bunker Studio in New York with renowned musicians such as Jonathan Blake (drums), Adrian Varady (compositions, drums), Alan Bartus (piano), Dezron Douglas (bass), and Michael Rodriguez (trumpet). The album features modern jazz compositions, some written by Jaku herself and Adrian Varady.

Since 2017, Maja Jaku has been a lecturer for vocal jazz/pop at JAM MUSIC LAB Private University for Jazz and Popular Music in Vienna and, since 2021, also at the Friedrich Gulda School of Music. Previously, she taught at the New England Music Academy (USA) and the MUS-POP Institute in Graz. She has led workshops with artists such as Joe Pass, Tânia Maria, Wynton Marsalis, Jon Hendricks, and Barry Harris. Maja Jaku is known for her powerful voice that spans both jazz and soul. She has performed at numerous jazz festivals, including the Novi Sad Jazz Festival (2003), Vienna Jazz Festival (2018), and Nashville Jazz Festival (2019). Her concerts have taken her to prestigious venues such as Porgy & Bess Vienna, Orpheum Graz, and Jazzland Vienna.

With her deep connection to jazz, her educational work, and her international presence, Maja Jaku is a prominent figure in the jazz and soul music scene.

Workshop (21st of May): Title: Jazz Meets Classical – Vocal Expression in a Jazz Context

In this workshop, we will explore the art of jazz singing — from phrasing and vocal styles to the mindset of a jazz musician in today’s world. Together, we will look at what makes jazz unique: its sense of freedom, groove, interaction, and improvisation. Participants will experience hands-on exercises in jazz phrasing, rhythmic feeling, and vocal improvisation. Through groove-based vamps and Neo-Soul influenced settings, we will dive into modern expressions of jazz. The workshop is open to vocalists and instrumentalists alike — everyone will have a chance to sing, play, or contribute. We will explore jazz as a form of personal and artistic expression, as a profession, and as a language that lives through listening, reacting, and creating in the moment.

Dusan Simovic

graduated with honors in classical guitar from the Sarajevo Music High School in 1989 and continued his musical education at the University of Music and Performing Arts Graz. In 1998, he completed his diploma in concert guitar under Prof. Martin Myslivecek. He went on to earn his bachelor’s degree with distinction in jazz double bass in 2008, studying with Prof. Wayne Darling and specializing in ensemble conducting.

In 2024, he received a diploma in instrumental (vocal) pedagogy with distinction, majoring in bass (jazz/pop) at the Friedrich Gulda School of Music Vienna. Throughout his education, he participated in numerous workshops and masterclasses with internationally renowned artists such as Joe Pass, Dave Liebman, Wynton Marsalis, John Abercrombie, Ray Brown, Marc Johnson, Ron McClure, Bob Mintzer, and Bill Frisell.

In addition to his artistic career, [Name] has been active as a music educator. He has taught at the New England Music Academy in Graz as well as at the music schools Hausmannstätten and Musyl & Josepha in Graz. As a performing artist, he has toured internationally and appeared at numerous festivals and concert venues. He has worked with jazz greats including Mundell Lowe, Don Menza, John Riley, Kevin Mahogany, Andy Bey, Derrick Gardner, Bruce Adams, John Marshall, Bart van Lier, Dena DeRose, Renee Manning, Howard Gurtis, Dusko Goykovich, Stjepko Gut, Jure Pukl, Fritz Pauer, Erich Kleinschuster, Bruno Castellucci, Erich Bachträgl, Renate Chicco, Alex Deutsch, Harald Neuwirth, Oliver Kent, Martin Reiter, Jim Rotondi, Heinz von Hermann, Roman Schwaller, Daniel Nösig, Joris Dudli, Manfred Josel, Karlheinz Miklin, Klaus Raible, and Richard Österreicher.

Workshop: The Role of the Double Bass in Jazz

This workshop explores the significance of the double bass in jazz, emphasizing that it is much more than just a background instrument. It begins with a historical overview and a comparison between the double bass and electric bass. Participants learn about the walking bass technique, central to swing music, and its function in creating groove and motion.The session covers how the bassist’s role shifts across various jazz styles—Swing, Funk, Latin, and Free Jazz—exploring stylistic approaches such as ostinatos, montuno patterns, and free improvisation. It includes interactive segments where students improvise and create walking bass lines, promoting active listening and collaboration. Participants also examine groove fundamentals like timing, feel, and dynamics, and engage in exercises to internalize rhythmic placement. The workshop concludes by framing the double bass as a storytelling tool, inspiring students to recognize its expressive power within an ensemble.

The BIP is funded by the ERASMUS+ Program.