Program Overview
Jazz Composition
The jazz composition curriculum closely follows the jazz performance course of study. All jazz composition students study with an applied studies teacher on their principal instrument. Students in the jazz composition program begin the sequence of courses in private composition in their first year and explore a variety of styles and idioms. Jazz composition study culminates with the public presentation of original works for jazz ensembles of various sizes on students’ junior and senior recitals.

A student works on a musical composition.
Photo credit: William Bradford
Program Facts
- Program Type: Major
-
- Bachelor of Music (BM)
- Division: Jazz Studies
Program Director
Bobby Ferrazza,Professor of Jazz Guitar
Contact
- Julie Baker, Administrative Assistant
- (440) 775-6633
- Julie.Baker@oberlin.edu
Quick Links
Jazz Composition Faculty
-
Jay Ashby
Associate Professor of Jazz Studies
Jazz Composition News
Winter Term: Creating Music Miles Apart
September 23, 2020
Seniors Arthur Welsh and Mark Ligonde had an ambitious goal for Winter Term. The pair planned to release a seven-song album with six different genres and subgenres of music, while residing miles apart. The project would challenge their compositional and production skills, but the end result was even more complex and creative than they imagined.
Courtney Bryan ’04 Awarded Rome Prize for Composition
May 8, 2019
Multitalented musician to live in Italy, create chamber piece based on the life of an ancient emperor.
Jazz Supergroup Spring Quartet Performs April 17 in Finney Chapel
April 9, 2019
Final performance of the 2018-19 Artist Recital Series also concludes a three-day celebration of the Jazz Studies degree at Oberlin; limited tickets remain.